Green Scales
by RenKain
Summary: AU. Zoro Roronoa is a hopeless, brainless idiot, according to Syla Modokai. Unfortunately he is also incredibly difficult to get rid of. A moment of realization and a recovered memory might be enough to change that opinion. ZoroxOC.
1. Chapter 1

I know, I've been getting really off-subject with writing the sequel for 'What Would Happen If', but I stumbled across this old piece of garbage on my computer and decided I wanted to try to finish it. I don't usually do AU stories, and I'm no expert at anything involving romance, so this is a little out of my comfort range. All the more reason to give it a try, I suppose. I'll still work on the others as well. And Modokai Syla is my OC that will be appearing in WWHI at some point. And for the life of me I can't remember if Tashigi has a last name, what it might be or if Tashigi _is_ her last name. I apologize if I got it wrong.

The joke with my OC and her place of work is that she's from a dragon clan in the One Piece universe, hence the obsession with scaly things.

Hope that isn't too confusing for anyone. And hope you like this filler story!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece. Syla is mine, though.

Warnings: Language for now. Possible M later.

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><p>I tapped my fingers on the edge of the counter and looked down into the small glass tank in front of me. "Really," I mumbled. "Can't you two just get along? I don't have another tank yet, you know."<p>

The two uromastyx lizards looked up at me blankly. The one on the left, Colby, tilted his head. The other one, which my co-worker had for some reason dubbed Helmeppo, flicked his tongue out at me.

"Don't get cocky," I warned him. I heard a light snort from behind me and turned to see Tashigi Kimura watching with amusement. She had her red-framed glasses resting on the top of her head, and had probably just come from the back room. She was holding a deposit bag in one hand and a bottle of iguana nutrition pellets in the other.

The reptile pet and supply store where we both worked was nearly empty by this time of day, the remaining few customers making quick last-minute decisions before they would come to the front counter. The business had been steadily declining recently, as the demand for snakes and lizards as house pets just wasn't as popular an idea as it had been years before. I myself doubted I would ever lose my interest in the little critters. They were just too adorable.

"Such a way with animals," Tashigi grinned. "Just take one of them out for awhile. I'd bet we have a box somewhere, we can attach a heat lamp for him."

"That's probably the best we can do until tomorrow," I agreed. "Little bastards are being more feisty than usual today. I wonder what's gotten into them?" They had been together since day one, and had never acted like this.

"I'm sure it's just a lover's quarrel," Tashigi waved a hand dismissively, almost knocking over a display of reptile care pamphlets. "Whoops."

"Glasses," I reminded her. "I'll go find a box." I moved out from behind the counter and walked past the numerous tanks and cages holding my favorite animals in the world. Sweet little things.

I was very aware that not many people shared my love and enthusiasm for the cold-blooded beasts, but I supposed my fascination with scaly things ran in the family. My uncle, who owned the store, was incredibly outspoken on how the reptilian world was suffering greatly due to human habitation, and had even gotten in the way of the local council on one or two issues involving the destruction of natural grasslands surrounding Grand Line City.

Uncle Dragon was the reason I had wanted to have a pet snake at the tender age of six, and after about a month of begging and pleading, my older brother had finally let me have one of my own. As long as I took full responsibility for it, he really didn't seem to mind very much.

I frowned and picked up an empty box from one of the back shelves. Thinking about my brother still hurt most times. It had been unfair, the way he was taken from me, and I had a lingering rage toward the one who had so mercilessly killed him, all for a few hundred dollars worth of electronics. It hadn't been difficult for the authorities to catch the shitty bastard and give him a life sentence. Still, I doubted I could ever find it in myself to forgive the guy for tearing my already fragile family even further apart.

"Hey Syla," Tashigi called from the front counter. "Where'd you go? Did you get lost? Geez, you're getting to be as bad as Zoro."

I walked back into the main store and set the box on the counter. "Hey," I protested. "It's hardly fair to compare me with that moss-brained idiot."

While I had been lost in thought in the back room, the last customers had already paid and left. The front lights were dimmed and the sign was turned to announce we were now closed.

Tashigi laughed and finished counting through the money in the till. She plucked Colby gently from the glass tank, holding him carefully in both hands. "I still don't get what you have against Zoro," she shook her head. "He's really not that bad, you know."

"You didn't like him at first, either," I pointed out. "In fact, I specifically remember you saying that you had tried to fight him for the first few years after you two met."

"That's because he wasn't _my_ friend," Tashigi shrugged. "He was Kuina's."

Kuina had been Tashigi's older sister and Zoro Roronoa's best friend. The three of them were involved in after-school kendo classes from the time they could properly hold a stick, and spent every free second they could at the only dojo in town. After Kuina had been killed in an accident when they were all young teenagers, Tashigi and Zoro had continued their training in her honor.

I figured that might have been one of the reasons Tashigi and I got along so well when she had started working for my uncle a few years back; we had both lost a very close older sibling, and understood that kind of loss wasn't something someone could get over so easily. For her it had been longer, close to ten years now. For me, only four.

"Speaking of the Green Monster," I started as I pulled a spare heat lamp from behind the counter, "you guys still on for that match next Saturday?"

"Yep," Tashigi beamed proudly. "I'm going to kick his ass this time, too."

"In that case I'll be there," I grinned back at her. "The old auditorium, right?"

"Right." Tashigi clipped the lamp to the side of the wooden box and adjusted the height to keep the heat away from the edge. "You don't think he'll get out of it, do you?" she asked, frowning.

I hadn't been paying attention, still thinking about the upcoming fight. "Who, Roronoa?"

"Colby," she pointed at the lizard before reaching in and running her finger along his bumpy head. Having been born and raised in the store, both Colby and Helmeppo were incredibly tolerant of our affections for them.

"Him? Probably not," I shrugged. I scribbled a note for Ussop and stuck it to the box. "He's afraid of his own shadow, so it's unlikely he'll try to get out of his safe zone."

"In that case, we're done. Finally Friday, too," the other girl sighed and closed the till drawer and started toward the back door. "Any big plans tonight?"

"Not really," I flipped the switch for the timer on the other tanks and followed her. "I'll probably go have dinner at Dragon's place, then maybe a drink with Robin at the usual. You?"

"I have practice with Zoro at seven but after that I'm not sure," Tashigi shrugged as I locked the door behind us. "I think Smoker's home tonight, so I'll probably try to stay out of the house until he goes to bed. Don't want to get caught in another inquisition."

Smoker was Tashigi's older and over-protective cousin, I had never caught the man's real name. He absolutely hated Zoro, although no one knew exactly why. I figured it must have something to do with the moss head hanging around Tashigi so much, but didn't really see where the problem was with that. The two had been friends since grade school.

"Well, come on down if you feel like it," I said as we walked across the back parking lot to our respective cars. I loved Robin like a sister, but she had a habit of getting too wrapped up in her work and wound up chatting my ear off about a piece of two hundred year old pottery she was currently documenting for her lab. Not that I didn't appreciate how much she loved it, but dirt-encrusted clay wasn't really on my lists of interests.

"I'll probably take you up on that," Tashigi's grin turned mischievous, "as long as I can bring a friend."

"If you must bring the cave man, I suppose-"

"Not Zoro," Tashigi cut in, still smiling. "A _new _friend, if you know what I mean."

I felt my eyebrows disappear into my side-swept bangs. "Really?" I smirked. "Landed someone special? Who is it?"

"You'll just have to wait," Tashigi waved and opened her driver's door. "See you tonight."

"Alright," I waved back. I got into my car and drove off, headed for my uncle's house. Tashigi had a date? Well, this was certainly something new.

It wasn't that the other girl was bad looking or had a rotten personality, it really had more to do with the fact that she went nearly everywhere with Zoro. After awhile, most people had just started to think of the two as a couple and left it at that. I knew that wasn't the case, but this new situation was still a little surprising.

I suddenly felt a bit more excited about my night.

* * *

><p>I walked into my uncle's house through the sliding back door, stepping into the dining area next to the kitchen. The living room looked empty and I couldn't hear any sounds coming from down the hall, either. "Hey Dragon," I called. "You home yet?"<p>

"Syla!"

I sidestepped with much practice as a black and red blur whipped past me and into the wall beside the door. "Luffy," I greeted. "How are you?"

My energetic cousin detached his face from the wall and grinned widely. "Starving! Guess what?"

"What?"

"Ace is in town from college, and Sanji's coming over in a minute to make dinner for us! Isn't that awesome?"

"Ace is in town?" I repeated. "When did he get here?" I hadn't heard anything about my older cousin visiting for the weekend, and was pleasantly surprised.

"About an hour ago," a deep, cheerful voice answered from the doorway. Ace was leaning against the frame, arms folded and grinning. "Just drove up to say hi."

"Ace!" I walked over and hugged him quickly, letting go and stepping back. "Did you get taller?"

"Nah, you're just shrinking," he ruffled my dark hair affectionately. "And since when do you wear your hair like that? Makes you look older." He looked like he was trying to be stern but failing miserably.

I smiled back at him. Ever since I lost my own brother, Ace had seen it as a personal duty to fill in the role of unnecessary protector. He wasn't quite strict enough to pull it off, though. "Just recently," I shrugged.

Luffy bounded over to us like he had springs on his feet, yet apparently had forgotten to include breaks. He ran right into me and bounced us both off the living room wall. I, doing what any mature young lady in her early twenties would do, grabbed Luffy by the back of his shirt and threw him to the floor, jumping on top of him.

"Dog pile!" Ace shouted right before he landed on both of us.

The next few minutes were spent with each of us trying to get the upper hand on the others, with no one getting very far. I had grown up with these clowns and knew their moves all too well. Over our shouts and giggling no one heard the back door slide open again.

"Hey kids," a rumbling voice cut into our impromptu wrestling match. "The cook's here."

I stopped in the act of putting Ace in a headlock, with Luffy under my legs trying to pin them down while Ace twisted his arm, and looked up to see Dragon and Sanji standing in the kitchen. Dragon appeared to be completely indifferent to the scene but the blonde man was trying very hard not to laugh.

"Hi guys," I panted. We all three let go and stood up, straightening our clothing. "How goes it?"

"It's a pleasure, Syla," Sanji smiled at me politely. "It isn't often I am given the opportunity to cook for such a rare beauty such as yourself."

I snorted in a very un-lady like way. "I'll be sure to let Nami know next time I see her."

"Well," Sanji looked a little panicky. "What I mean is-"

"Yes, yes," Dragon waved one broad hand. "We got it, son. Kitchen's all ready for you. Thanks, by the way."

"No trouble at all," Sanji assured him. "There aren't many things I love more than cooking for friends."

I knew he really meant it, too. That was one of the things I liked best about Sanji; the guy took his cooking very seriously, and he was damn good at it to boot. In fact, I didn't think I had ever had better food than his.

Ace leaned down to whisper in my ear as Luffy and Dragon sat themselves at the dining table to wait for dinner. "You're staring," he noted. "The cook catch your eye?"

"No," I answered truthfully. "I just really like food." That was true, too. The ability to eat like an elephant and not gain a pound seemed to be a family trait, so having a slight food obsession was fairly safe. "He's not my type, anyway." I sat down on the sofa behind us and my cousin settled himself next to me.

"So what is your type?" he asked conversationally. "You still with that guy from East Road? What was his name…Jimmy?"

"Johnny?" I looked at him, surprised. "That was over two years ago, Ace. You haven't been gone _that_ long." I shook my head. "No, Johnny was nice but a little too into himself. It didn't last long. What about you? Anybody from school you're interested in?"

"Not really," Ace shrugged. "Just kind of playing by ear right now. Besides, with my internship starting in a couple of weeks I'm not going to have much time anyway."

"Ah," I nodded. Ace had applied for an internship with a firm in New City, under a well-known CEO nicknamed 'White Beard'. No one could figure out why, though. The guy didn't even have a beard. Still, an opportunity like that was rare and Ace had agreed immediately.

"You still at the snake store?" Ace asked after a moment. He sat back and set one ankle on the other knee, arms folded behind his head.

"Yeah," I answered. "Still there. Still love snakes. And lizards. And turtles."

"Weirdo," Ace smiled. "No wonder you don't have a boyfriend."

"I'm not as bad as Ms. Hancock yet, so I think I'm doing pretty good," I sat back and chuckled. Ms. Hancock was one of the karate instructors from down the street, and was completely obsessed with snakes _and_ Luffy. I thought it was a little disturbing honestly, as she had to be at least ten years older than him.

Ace tipped his head back and laughed loudly. He was also aware of the sensei's 'secret' crush and of course thought it was absolutely hilarious. "If we can get Luffy to marry her, that would be great!" he cackled.

"Marry who?" Luffy had jumped from the end of the couch to land between us and tipped over onto Ace.

"Hancock," I grinned.

"Oh, I like her," my younger cousin nodded enthusiastically. "She always brings candy to class."

"Why do you still go there, anyway?" I wondered out loud. "You're a black belt already."

Luffy shrugged his shoulders carelessly. "It's fun. Come on," he grabbed Ace and me by our wrists and tugged us off the couch. "Sanji says dinner's almost done."

_Efficient and fast_, I thought as I joined Dragon and my cousins at the table. It had definitely been a good idea to come here today.

Sanji served us himself before sitting down. The meal was curry stew and rice on top of a large steak, with dishes of sweet sauce beside each plate. The guy certainly knew how to impress this family.

We all thanked the blonde cook again and for several minutes no one said anything, too busy stuffing our faces with the impossibly delicious food. I smacked Luffy's hand when he tried to steal Ace's half-eaten steak and kicked Ace under the table when he dozed off over his rice. Dragon, completely immune to his sons and their bizarre eating habits, didn't even glance up the entire time.

When our plates were empty Sanji went back to the kitchen and returned with a serving platter stacked with caramel and fudge brownies. I could have kissed him, they looked so good.

"Sweet!" Luffy crowed. "Did you make these earlier?"

"I brought them from home," Sanji nodded. "They're a new recipe. Tell me what you think of them."

I doubted Luffy would even pause to taste the dessert bars and I was right. They were ridiculously good though, and Sanji beamed when we told him this. After the feeding frenzy had died down I turned to Ace and Sanji. "I'm going down to The Little Garden in a while if you guys are interested. Robin Nico will be there later and Tashigi is bringing a friend as well."

"Count me in," Sanji agreed. "It's been too long since I've seen Robin's beautiful face. Tashigi isn't too bad, herself."

"Why can't I come?" Luffy pouted. "I haven't seen Robin in forever, either."

"It's a bar," I reminded him. "You're not twenty-one for another few months. Don't worry," I added when Luffy looked down sadly. "We'll take you with us somewhere tomorrow instead. Sound good?"

Luffy perked up immediately. "Can I choose the place?"

"Sure," I agreed, knowing I would probably regret that later. "Anywhere you want to go in the city."

Satisfied for the moment, Luffy stood up and stretched. "Kay Dad, I'm going next door for awhile." He left through the sliding door, Dragon grunting in acknowledgement with his nose stuck in the daily paper.

"Makino says hi, by the way," I directed at Ace. "She and Shanks bought a house down by the Water 7 district last month."

"Nice," Ace leaned back and picked at his teeth. "Those two get hitched yet?"

"Not yet," I shrugged. "But I doubt it'll be long now." I stood and stretched. "Anyway, I'd better get going so I can shower before we go out. See you guys in a bit. Bye, Dragon. Thanks." I patted my uncle on the shoulder as I walked by and he grunted again.

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><p>My own little apartment always seemed so much emptier after coming from my uncle's house, and I ignored the feeling as I set my keys and cell phone on the coffee table. I walked across the main living area, which also doubled as a kitchen, down the three foot long hallway to my bedroom. I dug through my dresser, then my closet and finally my hamper as a last resort, but couldn't decide on what I should wear. Eventually coming to the conclusion that it didn't really matter anyway I grabbed a grey button down shirt and white tank and a clean pair of dark jeans.<p>

As I was headed to the bathroom to shower, my phone rang from the coffee table. I didn't usually get calls unless it was Luffy, Dragon or Robin, so I was surprised at the name that came across the screen: Roronoa. What a ridiculous last name. Not that my own family was known for spectacular and awe-inspiring surnames, either. Monkey, Portgas and Modokai were unfortunately not very far up on the 'impressive' scale.

Monkey was, of course, my uncle's last name, as well as Luffy's. Ace Portgas was actually Dragon's adopted son and had been so since the time he was a toddler. As a last request of Dragon's friend and Ace's biological father, Dragon had kept Ace's last name as it was on his birth certificate. My brother and I were Dragon's older sister's children, and had inherited our own father's last name, Modokai.

An odd assembly of names, and confusing for anyone who didn't know the family. Still, I grinned, mine was the best.

Hitting the answer button I raised the phone to my ear. "Yes?" I answered a little impatiently.

"Modokai," Zoro sounded out of breath, his baritone voice pitched low. "I need a favor."

"Oh?" I said, suspicious. It was a well known fact that the muscle freak and myself were not on the best of terms, despite having several friends in common, and I couldn't quite figure out why he would call me, of all people.

"Ya gotta come get me," Zoro's words were slightly mashed together. I heard a crash, and a muffled 'shit'. "I'm not really sure…"

"You're lost, aren't you?" I said bluntly. "Call Tashigi."

"No!" the reply was sharp and immediate. There was a pause, then more quietly. "Please."

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Don't you have any friends?" I gritted out. "Luffy or Johnny? Even Nami?"

"…I don't want anyone to know," Zoro mumbled. "_Please_."

For the sake of my cousin and co-worker, I reluctantly agreed. "Fine. Where are you?"

"Don't know. By a building that looks like a warehouse. Has a big number one on it." Zoro's words were still a bit slurred and I was beginning to wonder if he was drunk. It didn't seem possible. The amount of alcohol it would take to get that Neanderthal intoxicated would be enough to kill a regular person.

"Galley L.A.?" I asked. "What the hell are you doing by the docks? Never mind, just stay there." I hung up irritably and grabbed my keys. If I ended up being more than twenty minutes late meeting Robin, this guy was going to be in a world of hurt.


	2. Chapter 2

Here we get to see a bit more of the other characters. Not much to say about it other than that.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece

Warnings: Language.

Reviews of what you think so far are, as always, very appreciated!

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><p>It took ten minutes of driving to reach the docks and another two seconds to spot Zoro. It wasn't all that hard, seeing as he was surrounded by the evening shift dock workers and appeared to be arguing with them. I pulled up to the building and got out of my car after killing the engine.<p>

"Roronoa!" I hollered. "Come on!"

Zoro didn't budge, facing down a blonde man in a blue jacket, hands balled into fists. The other man looked slightly familiar and as I approached I realized it was Paulie, a dock worker who knew my uncle from several past business deals. I tried that angle instead.

"Hey Paulie," I jogged up to them. "What's going on?"

"Miss Modokai," Paulie cut his eyes sideways at me as I trotted up. "You know this drunk asshole?" He growled and gestured at Zoro, who raised his fists a few inches higher. This could end badly, I realized. The idiotic Green Wonder spent several hours a day in a dojo, I wasn't sure Paulie could match him if it came down to blow for blow. Not that the dock worker was weak, more like Zoro was inhumanly strong.

"Yeah," I was all I said, eyeing Zoro's unsteady movements. "I got it." So the moron really was drunk? Unbelievable. "Come on, Roronoa. Let's go." When Zoro didn't even glance at me I walked right up to him and grabbed his arm, dodging Paulie's clutching fingers as he tried to stop me. "Zoro."

Zoro snapped his eyes to my face and I had to force myself to stay where I was. He looked so…lost. And angry. Like he had no idea where he was, and not only literally this time. "Syla," he rumbled, swaying a little on his feet.

Well, at least he recognized me. I tugged lightly on his arm. "Come on," I tried again. "We're leaving. There's no reason to stay here."

After another moment Zoro took a step in the direction I was leading him and almost immediately stumbled forward. Silently vowing to convince Tashigi to beat him to a bloody pulp during their next practice, I slid under Zoro's broad shoulder and hoisted his arm over my own, supporting him on the way to the car. He was _heavy_.

"You sure you got it?" Paulie asked, sounding worried. "Should I call Dragon?"

"No need," I answered. "I'll be fine. Thanks." Nevertheless, I felt the blonde man's eyes on us until I had managed to shove Zoro into the passenger seat and walked back to the other side. "Sorry about that, Paulie," I waved apologetically. "Rough night, is all."

Paulie nodded wordlessly and left with the other dock workers, disappearing back into the warehouse.

I got into the car and slammed the door angrily, turning to the incredibly annoying man in the passenger seat. I opened my mouth to demand why he was wandering around by the docks, what he had called me out there for and how the _hell_ he had managed to get that drunk. Everything caught in my throat as I looked at him.

He was sitting completely still and staring down at his hands, the expression on his face one that I was all too familiar with. Loss. Well, that did explain some of his actions, anyway.

I sighed and started the engine. "I'll take you home."

"No," Zoro sounded broken. "I can't go home."

"Why not?" I was trying to hide how annoyed I really was at the moment. "And why are you drunk? _How_ are you drunk?"

"Got in a fight with Johnny," he muttered.

"That's why you're drunk?"

"No." He turned away to stare out the window. "But I can't go back. Not tonight."

I sighed again and pulled out of the docking parking lot. "Where do you want to go?"

Zoro didn't answer for awhile. Then he said quietly, "Can I stay at your place?"

I almost hit a pole. "What? Why?"

"Just for awhile?"

I could barely hear him, he was so quiet. I kept driving back toward town, thinking hard. I really didn't want this blunt, scowling, obnoxious guy in my apartment, but was also unwilling to just turn him away in the state he was in at the moment. Before I knew it I was taking the turn toward my street. I pulled up in front of the one story apartment and got out. Zoro followed unsteadily and leaned against the wall as I unlocked the door. I let him in first and walked through behind him.

"I have to go out again soon," I told him, pointing at the couch. "Just sit down." I took a glass from the kitchen, filled it with water and set it on the end table beside the couch. Then I left him in the living room and went down the hall to the bathroom, locking the door behind me and taking a deep breath. What was I doing? Why was Roronoa in my apartment? I could barely stand him _outside_ my residence, how had I gotten myself into this? I could only assume it was because I loved Luffy and Tashigi, and they loved Zoro. For some unfathomable reason.

I showered as quickly as I could and redressed, running my thick hair under my hair dryer as long as I dared before yanking a brush through it. Dumping my old clothes in my room I sent a text to Robin to let her know I would be a little later than planned and went back into the living room.

Zoro had removed his shoes and was stretched out on my couch, one arm thrown over his face. His broad chest was rising and falling slowly, but he didn't look up as I approached. "Hey," I said. No response. "Zoro."

"Hm," he rumbled. He was awake, but barely.

"Don't go anywhere," I said. "Just…stay here until I get back." I should have been telling him to call a taxi and get the hell out of my apartment but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

He grumbled something unintelligible as I left.

* * *

><p>The Little Garden Bar was only a couple of blocks from my apartment, and as I walked I became even more angry about the entire situation. Somehow, I doubted whatever was wrong with Zoro was something that had happened overnight, and I was glad Tashigi was going to be at the bar this time.<p>

The Little Garden itself was exactly how it sounded; a small bar with green walls and various potted plants scattered around on the shelves surrounding the many small tables. It was owned and operated by two enormous brothers, Dorry and Broggy Garden. They were incredibly nice men, if not a little too loud for my liking.

I spotted Robin sitting with Ace and Sanji. They had pushed two tables together to make enough room for everyone and the area was more crowded than I had expected. Tashigi and a guy I didn't know but assumed was Tashigi's date were sitting across from Robin. Nami Mikan was also there, having just turned of age, and her sister Nojiko as well. The last one surprised me. I hadn't seen Nojiko for a long time.

Ignoring the reasons Zoro hadn't called anyone else for a ride, it wasn't really my job to baby sit him anyway, I marched up to the table and looked pointedly at Tashigi. "Would someone care to explain to me why I have a drunk kendo master passed out on my couch?"

Tashigi looked surprised, then relieved. "Zoro's at your place? Thank God."

"Did you just call him a 'master'?" Sanji smirked.

"He's _drunk_?" Robin's normally passive face showed her obvious shock.

"Yes, yes and yes," I answered, arms folded in front of me. "I had to go down to the docks to get him. He was trying to fight Paulie Adam."

"You're kidding," Ace mused. "The Galley L.A. manager? Why the hell would he do that?"

"I don't think it actually had anything to do with Paulie," I said, sitting down between Robin and Ace. "Roronoa's lost it." I might have felt a little guilty about betraying the moron if I hadn't been in such a bad mood about the whole thing. I looked over at the guy beside Tashigi. He was incredibly pale with light brown hair and gentle eyes. He looked nice enough. "Syla Modokai," I introduced myself. "Sorry about that."

"Pell Falcon," the guy nodded back. "It's alright. I'm glad you found Tashigi's friend, she's been worried about him."

I looked back to Tashigi and considered asking what was wrong with the cave man, but shook my head instead. "He's fine. He can stay where he is for now."

"Wow Syla," Nami remarked. "That's really…nice of you."

"He's too damn heavy to move anyway," I explained.

Tashigi nodded. "I'll come get him in the morning."

"I'll take him home," I said. "Don't worry about it." I didn't feel like announcing to the entire table that Zoro had flat out refused to see his longest known friend, no matter how angry I was with him. Whatever was going on between them wasn't anyone's concern but their own. Also, I didn't want to have to chase the maniac down again if he ran from Tashigi.

I noticed Ace giving me a funny look out of the corner of my eye but ignored him and looked at Nami's sister instead. "Nojiko," I smiled. "Been awhile."

"Hey Syla," Nojiko grinned. "Still performing crowd control, I see."

"Yes," I sighed dramatically, earning groans and eye-rolls from Nami and Ace. "Poor bastards would be lost without me. Some more literally than others." I shook my head.

I had already calmed down considerably when Dorry thundered over with a wide grin to take drink orders and the table fell into an amicable rhythm. Pell explained that he had moved to Grand Line City a few months ago, from the other side of the country, for a new job with the Nefertari Incorporation as head of security. Ace told the others about his internship and Nojiko announced she had landed a new position at the largest greenhouse in the city, the Cocoyashi House. She was now the head of the fruit division.

"I wanted to stay there because it's close to home," Nojiko said, swirling her pink straw. "The pay could be better but the work is really great."

"They'll probably give you a raise once they finally figure out how good you actually are," Nami encouraged. "The City Development and Treasury Department on the other hand," she shrugged and sighed. "I swear, those people have no idea what they're doing half the time."

"That's why I work with lizards," I put in. "They never talk back."

"It's also why you haven't had a date in such a long time," Robin smiled wickedly. "Your people skills are getting rusty, Syla." She smiled when I stuck my tongue out at her teasingly.

"Who's got the store tomorrow?" Ace asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Ussop and Chopper," I answered as Dorry brought another tray of drinks to the table and Pell bought the round, waving away our protests.

Ace chuckled. "Those two from next door?" he asked. "When did they start?"

Our eccentric neighbors had been almost immediately taken in by Luffy when they had moved to Grand Line City a few years back, and it wasn't too surprising. Ussop and his younger brother Tony, who everyone called 'Chopper', were two of the most interesting kids I had ever met. "About a year ago." I grinned and shook my head. "Jeez, Ace. You're really out of the loop, aren't you?"

My cousin shrugged and picked up his drink. "Seems like whenever I call lately the biggest news is always what kind of commotion Luffy's been causing that week," he smiled back.

"Speaking of," Nami said from across the table. "Luffy said there's some kind of tournament at the dojo next weekend."

"Yeah," Tashigi nodded at her. She had been staying quiet up until now, probably thinking of the guy I had left in my apartment. I wondered again what could have caused such a proud and indifferent man to go off the deep end like that, but shrugged it off as Tashigi continued. "Saturday at noon. They're ranging from the beginners to the masters, which is just me and Zoro. Should be pretty interesting."

"Isn't Luffy competing?" Sanji asked.

"He's not actually a member anymore," Tashigi smirked. "He just randomly shows up to wreak havoc and torment Zoro once in a while."

"Luffy graduated from the dojo last year," I explained when Sanji tilted his head and cocked one oddly-shaped eyebrow. "He still likes to visit, though. And I think I know why."

Tashigi laughed. "Hancock," she said, seeming to be in a better mood now that she was distracted from the thought of a certain moron. "Poor Luffy, he still has no idea. I don't understand how he hasn't caught on by now, though."

"It's because he's an idiot," Ace offered helpfully. "He might be good at fighting but he has the attention span of a brain-damaged goldfish. Even someone like Hancock can't keep his focus for more than about a second, and she's not exactly hard on the eyes."

We were all inclined to agree, and the conversation turned toward Luffy and Ms. Hancock, moving gradually toward speculations on the match and then back to the subject of everyone's recent events.

Robin leaned in toward me as Nami explained to Tashigi about the new plans involving the more barren parts of the outer city to carefully avoid the grasslands. "So," Robin started. "What made you decide to rescue Zoro? I would have half expected you to leave him to Paulie, if at all possible."

"No idea," I murmured back. "Just…it was so out of character, is all. Guess I was a little curious."

"You mean worried?" Robin grinned.

"No," I answered a little too quickly, and Robin's grin turned into a smirk. She sat back again and I could almost see the wheels turning around in that impressive mind of hers. "He'll be gone as soon as he's sober," I insisted. "End of story."

Robin hummed in agreement, or amusement, and looked over at Sanji as he asked her a question about the archeological assignments she was currently heading down at the Rio Laboratories. Being a few years older than the rest of us and a genius on top of that, Robin's career was already fully under way. She was currently the supervisor at one of the most renown labs on this side of the country, and had even started making a name for herself in a short amount of time. She never bragged about things like that though, content to live her own dreams and let everyone else do the same. It was one of the reasons we all liked her so much. Robin was an extremely easy-going person.

"Hey kids," Broggy came up to the table, stomping noisily. "Just got a weather report. Looks like some pretty nasty rain heading this way."

"It's already here," Nami told him. "Look outside."

I hadn't given a thought to the weather conditions, but turning my gaze toward the window I was met with the sight of heavy grey rain sliding along the glass. Without any of us besides Nami noticing, a full-blown monsoon had started outside the bar.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Nojiko asked, sounding exasperated.

"I though you had seen it," Nami shrugged.

"Damn," Ace frowned. "We should probably head out soon."

"Yeah," Nami agreed. "It's been raining for a little while now, and it's just getting stronger."

We hadn't been at The Little Garden for more than a couple of hours, but judging by the amount of rain now pounding around the tiny building, Nami estimated that it wouldn't be too long before the streets began to flood.

Robin, who hadn't been drinking, volunteered to take Nami and Nojiko home and drop Sanji off on the way. Pell was also sober and insisted Ace and I pile into his car with Tashigi and himself.

We paid for our last drinks and bolted from the bar. Nami turned around just long enough to try to convince the Garden brothers to close down early before Nojiko yanked her into Robin's white sedan. Sanji seemed nearly beside himself with glee about riding with the three women as he climbed in beside Nami.

I clambered into the back seat of Pell's Jeep next to Ace. "You know where I am, right Tashigi?" I shivered. It was late September, and the rain wasn't exactly warm.

"Yeah," Tashigi answered. "No problem." She gave the directions to Pell, which was really just to drive in a straight line for two blocks, and turned back around to ask, "Do you want us to just take Zoro now?"

I tensed without really knowing why and was aware of Ace's eyes on me as I answered. "Don't trouble yourself. He's probably already asleep by now, anyway." Whatever was bothering him, I had a pretty strong suspicion it had something to do with Pell. I doubted Zoro would even get into the car with them to begin with, which made leaving him where he was the only current option.

Tashigi nodded, mouth in a tight line, but didn't protest. I reached for the handle and thanked Pell for the ride, ready to get out when Ace grabbed my wrist and shot me a very specific look. _Do you want me to come in with you?_

I silently shook my head and he let go. "See you tomorrow, Ace. Thanks for coming out, you guys." I hopped out and closed the door, running to the front and digging for my keys. I should really consider carrying a purse.

After a moment I managed to get the front door unlocked and Pell drove away when he had made sure I was safely inside. He really was a nice guy, I thought. Tashigi was a lucky girl.

A few minutes later, I had completely forgotten about both my friend and her pale date as I realized how truly out of my depth I really was.


	3. Chapter 3

Heads up, slightly darker than my usual stuff and a very OOC Zoro at the moment. He'll snap out of it soon, though.

Disclaimer: One Piece belongs to Oda

Warnings: Mild Language.

Enjoy!

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><p>It was completely dark inside my apartment and I flicked the light switch beside the door. The living area and kitchen were lit up with a harsh fluorescent light, and my heart jumped just a little when I realized my couch was void of any annoying, loud-mouthed morons. I looked down and spotted Zoro's shoes beside the coat rack. Where was that idiot?<p>

The kitchen, situated on the other side of the living room, had a small sliding door with the white vertical blinds nearly constantly closed over it. I eyed it suspiciously. Surely he wouldn't be that stupid?

I kicked off my shoes and strode over to the other door, pushing the blinds aside and throwing it open. The building in which I lived was a one-story square of apartments surrounding a community lawn in the middle. Each back door was met with the tenant's own personal slab of cement that served as a patio before melting into the grass. It was here that I found the moss-brained psycho, standing on the patio under the cold rain with nothing protecting the skin of his upper body but the thin t-shirt he had been wearing earlier.

"Roronoa!" I gasped. "What the hell are you doing?" When he didn't even turn to look at me I stepped out onto the patio and wrapped my arms around his middle. He wasn't huge but he was build like a brick wall and I had to press my face into his back and tighten my grip to get him to move, yanking him forcefully into the kitchen before closing the door. "What's the matter with you?" I snapped, moving around to face him. "What-" I stopped immediately when I saw the expression in his eyes. It was like looking into two empty voids.

Zoro raised his face to mine for a fraction of a second before turning away again, saying nothing.

I couldn't claim to know the reason behind his odd behavior, but it wouldn't matter anyway if he didn't get warm soon. With my hand on his arm I could feel just how cold his skin really was. Had he been out in the rain the entire time, the fool? "Move," I ordered and pushed him toward the hall. He didn't seem to have the will to fight back, which was alarming enough, as he simply followed my directions and stopped in the middle of my tiny bathroom.

I turned the shower on and adjusted it to a decent temperature before taking a folded towel down from the shelf. "Get undressed," I said sharply, "and get in there. The last thing anyone needs is you running a damn fever." Setting the towel on the sink I turned and left the bathroom again. What the hell had he been thinking?

Back in my room I opened the closet and climbed straight to the top, pulling a large cardboard box down from the shelf. I hadn't opened it in years, but there was no way anything of mine was going to fit that muscular mess of a man. Sifting through the contents my fingers managed to close around a bundle of soft material and I pulled the well-worn robe out to shake it off. I wasn't sure how I felt about letting the idiot wear my beloved brother's things but recognized that I didn't have many other choices, at the moment.

"Sorry Ryu," I muttered.

* * *

><p>Zoro stayed in the shower so long I was beginning to wonder if he hadn't fallen asleep in there as I paced around in the living room. I had changed into a soft shirt and pair of warm pajama bottoms and dried my hair with a spare towel.<p>

The rain was still coming down strong outside the apartment, loud against the walls and roof as I started my electric water boiler to make tea. There wasn't a chance in hell I was feeding that psychotic weirdo any more alcohol tonight. He had been acting strange enough as it was, I really didn't feel like throwing any fuel on his bizarre mental fire.

I poured myself a cup of brew and sat down at the small table, still pondering over my own motives. Since when did I give a damn what Zoro thought was normal behavior?

Eventually I heard the sound of the water being shut off and a short time later he stepped out into the hall, towel around his waist and his wet clothing balled in one hand. I walked forward and traded them for a long blue bathrobe, hanging his soaked shirt and pants over my dining table chairs.

"Sorry if that robe smell weird," I said, not looking up. I had seen him shirtless enough at the dojo to have mastered the art of not staring at him. Stupid he may be, but he was well built. "It's been in a box for the last four years."

Zoro didn't answer as he shrugged it on over his shoulders and tied it, pulling the towel out from around his waist. He threw the wet towel over the back of the couch and walked around it to lay down. I finally realized that he hadn't said a word since asking to be brought here earlier in the evening. It was beyond strange.

I thought of the cocky, competitive, aggravating guy I had grown used to and almost missed that nearly over-bearing presence when I looked down at the broken man stretched out on my couch. Hesitating for a moment, I finally perched on the arm of the couch by his feet and sighed heavily.

"She's the last link."

The words had been so quiet I almost didn't catch them. "What?"

Zoro rolled over to face the back of the couch. "The last link…Kuina."

I sat very still, the pieces of everything I had seen and heard so far falling neatly into place as my mind worked over the information. Zoro's best friend Kuina had died nearly a decade before; her younger sister, who looked remarkably like her, had grown up with him and had become a kind of replacement, so to speak. And now Tashigi was getting quite serious with this Pell guy. _He's afraid, _I realized. _He thinks he's going to lose her._

Although drinking himself into a stupor and nearly starting a brawl at the docks seemed a little extreme to me, obviously Zoro didn't think so. "Do you love Tashigi?" I asked calmly, doing my best imitation of Robin so as not to startle him.

"She's everything," he answered numbly. I didn't think he even knew who he was talking to anymore. "She's leaving. He's going to take her. She told me this morning."

"How is she everything?" I asked. If I was going to play the part of a subconscious guide, I might as well do it right.

Zoro's eyes closed tightly, his fingers clutching at the robe. "My sister," he muttered. "My last tie…if she leaves…"

So it wasn't romantic, I mused, a little surprised. He was afraid to lose someone he considered to be such close family. It would be the second time, as far as he was concerned. I got up to walk over to the closet beside the front door and removed a large, soft blanket. Returning to the couch I threw it over Zoro and knelt beside him. "Not the last," I said as gently as I could manage. It still came out sharper than I had intended. "There's still you." I stood to leave again when an icy hand closed around my wrist and I looked back down, worried. Why the hell was he still so cold?

"Don't go," Zoro mumbled. I was certain he had in fact forgotten who he was talking to until he spoke again. "Syla…"

"I have to find another blanket," I explained, trying to hide my shock. "You're still freezing." I supposed I could have warmed him myself. If it had been Robin or one of my relatives I would have, but I had drawn a firm line at cuddling with moss-heads. After another moment I managed to free myself from his grip and went in search of more cover.

The only blanket left in the apartment was the one covering my mattress. "Hell no," I scowled. "No way." I didn't care how cold he was, the cave man wasn't sleeping in my bed. On the other hand, if the idiot became severely sick on my watch I would never hear the end of it, whether it was his own stupid fault or not.

I stood in the hallway for a few minutes, trying to decide what to do, before my conscience finally won out over my stubborn pride and I went back into the living room. "Get up," I said reluctantly. "Come with me."

Zoro really looked for all the world as though he would rather stay right where he was as he glared at me with one green eye. Finally he grumbled and rolled himself unsteadily from the couch. "Where?"

"Room," I answered shortly. I picked up the blanket and stalked toward my bedroom.

Zoro froze in the hallway, his reaction delayed by a few seconds. "What?"

"You won't stay warm out here," I said wearily. "Just…don't complain." I shook my head and walked into my room, laying the spare blanket out across my own quilt.

Zoro watched from the doorway. "Where're you sleeping?" he asked slowly.

"Well, I'm sure as hell not sleeping out in the living room without a blanket. The temperature is going to drop tonight because of the storm." I finished smoothing down the blanket and walked to the far side of the bed. It was a full sized mattress, and I was very grateful it wasn't any smaller than that. "Hit the light."

Zoro stayed where he was, staring at the bed as if it might suck him in if he got too close. "Why?" he asked.

I threw back the corner of the blanket and sat down on the mattress. "I have no idea," I admitted. "But you're my cousin's friend, and I know he wont be very impressed with me if you end up with a cold. Besides, you have a match in a week and Tashigi is expecting a challenge."

Zoro had tensed at Tashigi's name but moved his hand to the light switch. The room went dark, the only light coming through the thin curtains from the street lamp outside. I stretched out under the blanket and closed my eyes, concentrating on ignoring the man sliding into bed beside me. Just too weird.

I had known Zoro Roronoa for several years now, first through Luffy and then Tashigi. Since I spent so much time with the two of them, he had been exceedingly difficult to get rid of. I wasn't sure how he had met my cousin, although I assumed it was at the dojo, or why the two of them were such close friends given the stark difference in their personalities. Luffy was just like that, I thought. He could draw almost any kind of person to him with a smile alone, and was incredibly loyal to anyone he considered a friend.

Zoro settled in and sighed, turning on his side with his back to me. "Did you see her?" he asked.

"Yes." There was no need to wonder who he was referring to. "She was worried. You didn't go to practice, did you?"

Zoro didn't answer, shifting to lay on his back. This brought his shoulder within inches of mine and I had to fight down the urge to scoot away. I could smell the faint dust of the robe but it wasn't very strong. Luckily, Ryu had been built a lot like Dragon, so at least it was big enough to cover the broad-shouldered Zoro.

As if reading my thoughts the green ape pulled one hand out from under the blankets and pulled at the collar of the bathrobe. "This was your brother's, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," I admitted. "Couldn't bring myself to throw it away." Why was I talking so freely to this guy? I didn't even like him. He was churlish and obtuse, not to mention cynical, sarcastic and….funny.

I huffed silently, annoyed with myself for admitting it. Yes, he could be almost entertaining. I had also seen him do decent things in the past, and for no other reason than he had wanted to do them. Maybe he wasn't quite the monster I was making him out to be. _Maybe_.

Zoro sighed again and relaxed into the pillow under his head. I rolled away to stare out the window, lost in thought.

It took a long time to fall asleep that night.

* * *

><p>The stabbing light of the sun woke me the next morning. Grumbling, I rolled out of bed and went to the window to pull the blinds down behind the flimsy white curtain. Better. There was still enough light to see in the room and I looked over at Zoro. He was curled on his side, one hand under his head and facing the place I had been laying moments before. He looked…peaceful. The frown that seemed to be a constant fixture while awake was noticeably gone, his face relaxed. Odd.<p>

My interest piqued, I watched him for a few seconds, standing by the window. His green hair and tanned skin were accented by the white pillow beneath his head, mouth slightly open as he slept. The robe had opened a little in the front during the night and the top of the long scar that crossed his chest from his left shoulder down to his right hip was just visible.

Tashigi had told me a long time ago that Zoro had gotten that scar in the same accident that had killed Kuina. He was lucky to have survived, at all. I frowned, gaze moving from the line to the expanse of bronze skin around it, covering the hard muscle he had earned from so many hours spent exercising and practicing in a dojo. My eyes moved up the side of his neck, past his ear and onto silky looking hair. I turned away, still frowning.

I wasn't blind. For all that I denied it out loud I knew he was an attractive man. Nevertheless, he was still Zoro.

I shook my head and left the room, deciding to let him sleep a little longer. With the amount of alcohol he had consumed the night before, there was no doubt he would have a nasty hangover when he woke up. The thought didn't give me near as much pleasure as I had expected it would.

Dragging my feet into the kitchen I started a pot of coffee and walked over to the chairs to inspect the usurper's clothing. His shirt was dry but still smelled like the rain from the storm. I had always liked the smell of rain. Still groggy from having just woken up I lifted the fabric to my nose and inhaled. Under the initial scent there was another, more subtle one.

A scent that shot straight through my subconscious and yanked me back to a night I had spent four years trying to forget. It was dark and terrifying and beyond painful, yet somehow shielded by a strong, protective presence...

* * *

><p><em>It was a week after I had graduated high school. Taking advantage of my new-found freedom I had decided to stay longer than usual with my friends, all of us congratulating ourselves on having survived another year of classes before our summer breaks. In retrospect, the decision was what had probably saved my life.<em>

_I could see the lights from all the way down the block, flashing red and blue along the white washed walls of the apartment buildings on either side of my own. It was late and I had just come from Robin's house several blocks away, taking the familiar route my feet knew without any instruction. Curious about the commotion, I sped up to a slow jog to reach the police cars and ambulance surrounding the front of the tall apartment building. _

_My heart stopped when I saw the broken window, _our_ window, and what looked horribly like a tall body wrapped in a white sheet being transported to the ambulance on a stretcher._

Ryu.

_Time slowed and the world grew dark and silent, the only thing I could hear for several moments was the pounding of my own heart. I sprinted the last few steps to reach the stretcher, knowing without a doubt who was under the sheet. "Ryu!" _

"_No!" One of the officers had lunged forward to stop me before I could pull the sheet away, pinning my arms to my sides. "Please, stay back miss!"_

"_That's my brother!" I screamed. "Let go! _Ryu!_"_

_I have no idea how long I struggled to break free, but soon another pair of arms were around me and I was pulled face-first into a broad shoulder, held in place as my brother's body was taken away. My knees hit the grass and the arms moved with me, strong but not bruising._

_I could see the first officer talking to another beside one of the patrol cars, heard voices and chatter that made no sense at all. I felt myself screaming but the sound never reached my own ears. The pain in my chest was expanding, dulling my vision and focus with every second._

_I couldn't see who was holding me for those long minutes, my fingers clutching at skin and cloth. One arm held me in place while a long-fingered hand rested against the back of my head to keep my eyes turned away from the scene. I heard a voice speaking lowly, gently, but was unable to process it._

_An unfamiliar scent was everywhere, the smell of earth and metal, and I latched onto it like someone drowning._

_The next thing I knew the warm body and arms were gone and Dragon was kneeling on the grass beside me. I had never seen my uncle cry before that moment as he picked me up from the ground and took me to his car to sit with Ace._

_The next few weeks passed in a blur of unbearable pain and muted voices, punctuated once in awhile by the same scent as before, the one that reminded me of something I couldn't quite grasp. It would be there in the dark when I woke from a nightmare to Luffy's snoring or Ace's drowsy muttering, the same low voice soothing me back to sleep. I had known it wasn't either of my cousins or my uncle, but hadn't been in the frame of mind to question it at the time._

_Slowly, step-by-step, I had managed to come back to my senses during the following months and the comforting presence and unique scent of those nights were quickly forgotten._

* * *

><p>My memories slammed back into my body and I gasped, backing up until my hip hit the kitchen counter with Zoro's shirt still clutched in my hand. I took a deep breath and realized I was shaking as I stared down at the dark material.<p>

It wasn't possible…was it?


	4. Chapter 4

Here we go again. Not much plot line this time, just Zoro recovering slowly and Syla being stubborn.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece

Warnings: Still Mild Language

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><p>It was still about an hour before Zoro woke up. I had been sitting at the table, lost in thought, when he wandered into the kitchen, looking dazed. I wordlessly handed a glass of water to him along with his clothes and he headed back to the bathroom. He didn't say anything, either.<p>

When he had changed and set the folded robe on my bed I motioned for him to follow me and went out to my car, the subdued man trailing in my wake. The silence remained for the entire drive to his apartment. Zoro got out, nodded at me once and closed the car door, turning away without so much as a 'Thanks'.

I barely noticed him leave. My mind was still reeling from earlier, the newly recognized memories swirling around in my conscience. Over the years I had known him, I had always made it a point to keep myself at a reasonable distance from the surly man. There hadn't ever been an opportunity to catch even so much as a slight whiff of his usual scent, and so I had never pieced it together before now.

I scoffed at myself and backed up into the street to head home, wondering if things like this were better left forgotten. Still, my brain just couldn't let it go.

Zoro hadn't ever said anything before about being the one on the lawn, or about talking me back down after my nightmares. No one had mentioned it at all. Maybe it had been just another dream?

No, I thought numbly. There was no doubt the person who had stayed with me that night until my uncle arrived, holding on and keeping my traumatized mind together, had been Zoro. The scent of his shirt confirmed it. Earth and metal, and something very distinctly his own. The person who had provided such a calming presence during those first few nightmares had also been the gruff, frowning man.

Now I had to figure out why neither he nor my cousins had ever told me Zoro was the one who had been there during that dark time, watching over me like some kind of angel. That thought nearly made me laugh out loud, despite the situation surrounding it. Zoro was about as far from an angel as it was possible to get and not be an axe murderer.

Back inside my apartment I showered and redressed, my mind too preoccupied to notice very much around me. Fixing a quick breakfast I heard my phone give a loud beep and turned to read the new text. It was from Tashigi.

_Is he okay?_

I sent a message back.

_He's fine. I took him home but you should talk to him soon._

Tashigi agreed and I flipped to my contacts to call Ace. It was time to live up to the promise I had made to Luffy the day before, but I wasn't about to charge into that kind of mess without some back-up.

* * *

><p>I picked them up outside Dragon's house less than an hour later, having had to wait for Luffy to eat about three different times before he was ready to go. This had given me the opportunity to attempt to arrange my thoughts enough to question them without sounding accusing. It didn't work.<p>

The moment Luffy and Ace had shut the car's doors I rounded on the older of the two. "Why the hell didn't you tell me Roronoa was there the night Ryu died?"

Ace blinked slowly, clearly taken by surprise, and sat very still for a moment. It looked like he thought I might explode if he moved too suddenly. "Where is this coming from?" he asked. "What happened?"

"Nothing," I shook my head. "I just-" I cut myself off. It would sound really weird if I admitted to having sniffed Zoro's shirt while he was sleeping. Weird and creepy. "I just remembered," I finished lamely.

"You forgot?" Luffy asked from the back seat. He was looking from me to Ace, curious. "Zoro was at our house every night for weeks. He was really worried. How could you forget?"

"Luffy," Ace warned, still looking at me warily. "That's enough. I'm sorry," he said, changing his tone so I knew he was now talking to me. "I didn't realize you had no idea. I always wondered why you seemed to hate him so much, even after that."

"I don't hate him," I deflated. "I just…don't understand him." I pulled the car away from the curb and headed down the wet street. "It doesn't matter right now anyway. Luffy, where did you want to go today?"

Luffy grinned widely at me in the rear view mirror. "The park!" he shouted. "Let's go to the park!"

"The city park?" I asked. Of all the possibilities, it seemed a little tame for my exuberant cousin.

"Reverse Mountain," Ace clarified, still giving me a cautious look.

"Oh? Alright." I turned at the next light and drove in the direction of Grand Line City's biggest amusement park, avoiding the large puddles dotting the intersections as best I could.

"So," Ace started slowly. "Everything went well last night?"

I sighed, feeling a little guilty about taking my frustration out on him. "Sorry Ace. I just didn't realize… It seems so weird for him to do something like that, I never even considered it."

"It's not, really," Ace shrugged. "What's weird is, for how long you've known him, you don't actually _know _him."

"Why the hell would I want to?" I asked, frowning.

"Hey," Ace put his hands up in defense. "I know it's not my business, but," he shrugged, "don't you think you're being a little hard on the guy?"

"No," I answered immediately. I looked in the rear view mirror again when I heard Luffy talking to someone on his phone. "What's he up to now?" I mused.

Ace turned away to watch his brother instead, obviously glad for the distraction.

"Okay," Luffy was saying happily. "We'll be there soon. You gonna meet us at the gate?" Pause. "'Course that's fine. We'll all go in together. See ya." He hung up and looked at us. "Robin and Franky are coming, too," he said by way of explanation. "I tried to call Zoro, but he wouldn't answer. I left a message for him earlier though. Guess he doesn't wanna go."

"Not with that hangover," I snorted. Ace frowned at me and I relented. "I'm going to have to swing by my house," I told them. "Forgot my phone. I'll need it in case Ussop calls for anything." I turned and headed in the opposite direction. "It'll only take a second."

Back at my apartment I ran inside and dug through my bedroom, eventually unearthing the grey device. On my way through the living room again, something small and shiny caught my eye. I looked down toward the source and noticed a tiny picture sticking out from the cushions of the couch. Picking it up, I sighed. It was a photograph of Zoro, Kuina and Tashigi as children. The two girls were smiling from either side of the boy, arms around him and leaning in. Zoro was looking like he was trying very hard to remain expressionless. The light in his eyes was a giveaway, though. He seemed…happy.

Zoro must have been carrying this picture with him the night before, and somehow it had found it's way into my couch. No doubt he would want it back soon.

Making a mental note to call him later, I set the picture gently on the table and ran back outside.

* * *

><p>"Kay!" Luffy shouted as soon as I had parked the car. "Let's go!" He hopped out and bounced on the balls of his feet, waiting for us to gather our belongings before we joined him.<p>

I looked over at Ace and snickered as he grimaced toward Luffy's crazy behavior. "Still carrying a little of the Garden with you?" I asked.

"Yeah," he shrugged. "It's not too bad, though. Let's get up there before Luffy blows a gasket."

Stationing ourselves on either side of the youngest member of our group and dodging the spraying water as Luffy stomped through the puddles, we made our way across the parking lot and up to the line for admission. I noticed Franky Flam first, towering above most of the crowd and laughing loudly with one hand on Robin's shoulder. He was wearing his usual denim shorts and dark button-down work shirt with the name 'Cutty' stitched across the front pocket. He turned his head and waved as we approached.

"Hey bro," he grinned, taking Ace's hand in his own enormous one. "Been awhile."

Ace returned the shake and the grin. "Hi Franky. Just up for a visit over the weekend. How are things?"

"The shop's great," Franky began as we stepped into line. "Word's been getting around, so business is pretty super."

Franky was the owner and operator of Cutty's Garage downtown, and was the only person my family trusted to fix any of our vehicles. The man was a motor genius. He was also Robin's boyfriend, according to popular belief. The two had never said it out loud, but it was fairly obvious by the way they acted around each other. Even after being 'together' for the past two years the looks, touches and words were as if they had just started dating. It was cute, in a somewhat sickening way.

After purchasing our tickets, I paid for Luffy since it had been my idea to take him out today, although Ace refused to let me buy his as well, we made it into the gates. Ace cuffed his brother around the neck to stop him from taking off the second we were inside.

"Just a minute, Luffy," Ace pulled him back in, trying to get the energetic guy to make eye contact long enough to convey a message. "We'll need a plan, in case we get separated."

I had to admit, I was a little impressed. Although Luffy hadn't mentally aged since the time he was about fifteen, Ace seemed to have matured quite a lot in just the past year or two. That was something, at least.

"How about the south end of the food court, at around two o'clock?" Robin had stepped in to help Ace, and he gave her a grateful look. "Put your phone in your pocket," she instructed Luffy, "the one with the button so it wont fall out if you go on any rides."

Franky and I shared a smirk, thinking the same thing. Robin didn't usually display many maternal instincts so openly but something about Luffy definitely brought that out of her. Just like most people, I guessed she didn't even notice when this happened. Although Luffy was more than capable of taking care of himself on most occasions, anyone who spent a significant time around him ended up wanting to look after him.

Luffy latched on to Robin's wrist as she slipped his phone into his pocket and closed it, as she obviously didn't trust him to do it himself properly. "Will you play some games with me, Robin?" he asked, wide-eyed.

Robin shot a glance to Franky, who gave a slight nod, and smiled at Luffy. "Of course," she said. "Which games would you like to play?" She allowed Luffy to pull her off in the direction of the arcade strip, listening to his babbling with all the patience of a saint.

"Well," Ace stretched his arms over his head. "Let's go do fun stuff."

The three of us walked off in the direction of the arcade strip in a much slower pace than Luffy and Robin, taking in the sights, sounds and scents of the amusement park. My mind began to wander as Ace asked Franky about the shop's update and business flow, barely hearing a word that was being said around me. I was starting to feel a little guilty about treating the green-haired cave man so harshly the last few years, especially in light of what Ace had said in the car. I realized with another twist of guilt that I really _didn't_ know Zoro very well.

This thought melted into a new one as we crossed through several kiosks on our way to find Luffy and Robin; if I had remembered what he had done for me before now, would I feel any differently about him? Probably. Would I act any differently toward him? Maybe not. He was still irritating as all hell when he wanted to be, and I didn't know if I could ever get along with him as well as the others seemed to do.

"Earth to Syla," Ace said, leaning around Franky's bulky frame to give me a quizzical look. "Hey, where are you right now? Still thinking about Zoro?"

"Yeah," I sighed, knowing it would be absolutely pointless to deny it. My cousin knew me too well to fall for such a lie. "Sorry."

"Maybe you should talk to him," Franky looked down at me knowingly, and I guessed Robin had filled him in on the previous night's events. "Seems like he might respond to you, given his actions last night."

That brought up the question of 'why'. I still didn't understand why Zoro had called _me_, why he had wanted to stay with me, and not Luffy or…well Tashigi was out of the question and apparently so was Johnny, by what the monster had said when I picked him up. Still… it had been weird.

"Yeah," I answered the big man with a shrug. "Guess I should."

Ace looked like he wanted to say something else when Franky spoke up from between us. "Hey, isn't that him right there?"

My breath hitched a little as my gaze followed the direction Franky was pointing and landed on Zoro, standing beside Robin and watching Luffy try to knock plastic milk jugs down with a foam ball. What was he doing here? He couldn't possibly feel like coming all the way to Reverse Mountain in the shape he was in. Maybe, I mused, along with his insane tolerance for alcohol, he also possessed an equally insane ability to recover from it. Wonderful.

"Shit," I scowled, ignoring the other two's raised eyebrows. "Right now?" There wasn't much time to replace my indifferent attitude as we reached them much sooner than I would have liked and Luffy handed more money over to the girl working the booth, receiving another three balls and whipping them at the jugs with no apparent aim or thought involved.

"Come on, Luffy," Ace smirked. "Thought I taught you better than that."

Robin and Zoro looked over to us as we approached and Robin sidled a little closer to Franky, smiling at him warmly. Zoro glanced at me before turning away again, hands in the pockets of his jeans as he nodded to Ace.

"Hi," Zoro greeted. "Long time."

"Hey Zoro," Ace walked up and threw an arm over Zoro's broad shoulders. "What've you been up to? Still working at the dojo?"

"Yeah," Zoro shrugged. "Part time, anyway. Got that gig at the pawn shop, too. Kind of a pain in the ass, though," he said as he watched Luffy miss the jugs yet again. "Don't think I'll stay long."

He seemed to be completely opposite of the night before, talking normally with Ace and snickering at Luffy's frustration as the younger brother moved on to the next booth, determined to win at something. It was like nothing had ever happened. I would have believed he was fine too, if not for the tightness around his mouth and the almost obvious strain of his gaze as he chatted with first Ace, then Franky.

"Syla," Luffy waved me over to the neighboring booth. "I need a partner."

Sighing inwardly, I committed myself to helping Luffy win one of the little stuffed animals hanging around the edges of the booths, doing my best to ignore the odd looks Zoro was giving me every few minutes.

By mid-afternoon we had played several games, watched Luffy take Ace and Zoro on a few rides, walked through some gift shops, lost and recovered both Luffy and Zoro more than once, and had finally made it to the food court just as Luffy began to proclaim he was about to faint from hunger. He was gesturing at the stands with one hand, the other clutching a small stuffed panda toy he had finally managed to win at one of the booths.

"Yeah, yeah," Ace put Luffy in a headlock and dragged him over to the burger stand. "I know. What do you want?"

The guys placed their orders and Robin and I bought a gyro each while Franky came back from a pizza stand with Zoro. The moss head had found a giant turkey leg somewhere along the line and was busily munching on the side of it, a thin trail of grease dripping down his chin. I tried not to stare at him and turned my attention to Robin instead as we found an empty picnic table and sat down.

"So," I started, "It's been a little crazy lately, I haven't had much chance to chat with you. How's the job?"

"It's nice," Robin shrugged, ever modest. "Can't complain. I'll be getting a new office next month, which will give me more space to document. The one I'm in now gets awfully crowded when the end of the week papers all come in at once."

"I can imagine," I nodded sympathetically, then glanced around to her other side. "Smack Ace, will you?"

Robin turned to where Ace was beginning to close his eyes, his burger in hand, and tapped him gently on the shoulder before Luffy had the chance to steal his food.

"How you ever manage to get a full meal is beyond me," I told Ace as he snapped back to attention, shaking his head to clear it. I heard Zoro chuckle and looked over at him in surprise. He was grinning at Luffy as my cousin pouted about having his vulture opportunities snatched away from him.

"Robin," Luffy whined. "Who's side are you on?"

Robin just smiled at him and he eventually settled down enough to finish his own lunch and the rest of my over-stuffed gyro.

* * *

><p>It was getting close to evening by the time I managed to corner Zoro by the restrooms. He was standing by the water fountain, staring off into space with his arms folded as I approached.<p>

"Better?" I asked.

He looked over at me and nodded once. "Sure," he said. "Sorry about…"

"It's fine," I waved it off and leaned against the wall beside him. Now was as good a time as any, I thought. "Look, you…ah…You left your picture at my place." Well, that wasn't really what I had been thinking but trying to bring up the scent memory thing had me panicking a little. Yes, I was a chicken.

"Oh," was all he said. "I'll get it later. Thanks."

"No problem." This was awkward. I was glad when Robin came out of the women's restroom and Luffy, Ace and Franky joined us seconds after that.

"I should probably get going," Zoro directed at Luffy, then turned to Ace. "Good to see you again, Ace."

"Yeah," Ace waved as Zoro stepped back. "Swing by tomorrow if you can. We're having a cook-out around six."

"You can, right Zoro?" Luffy looked at him hopefully. "It'll be fun, and it wont be until after your practice anyway."

Zoro agreed and disappeared into the small crowds around us. Robin and Franky left soon after, and about an hour later Ace and I finally convinced Luffy it was time for us to go home as well.

* * *

><p>I dropped the guys off and headed back to my apartment. It had been a long day already and I was grateful for a quiet moment to myself.<p>

Sitting on the couch I looked over the picture again, eyes moving over the features of the children grouped together and grinning happily. I turned away and picked up my phone when it gave the tell-tale beep of a new message. This time it was Ace.

I read through the message once and gasped, leaping to my feet at the words in front of me.

_Zoro was in a car accident. We're headed to the hospital with Dad._

I nearly dropped the phone in my haste to collect my keys and run back out to my car, the picture still held tightly in one hand.


	5. Chapter 5

Every single one of my muses seem to have gone on a very long vacation (without me, darn them) and I've been trying to do the job all by myself for now. Hopefully they'll at least send a postcard so I can get some decent writing done. That said, I'll do my best to press on with this story and the others. Promise.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

Warnings: Language.

As always, reviews are appreciated and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

><p><em>Damn it, you crazy son of a bitch<em>, I thought frantically, taking the shortest route to the Grand Line City metropolitan hospital. _You had better not be- _I cut myself off and focused on the road instead.

A car accident. Zoro had nearly died in a car accident years before, and despite myself I couldn't stop the panic rising in my throat. I didn't know if it was because I had been looking at that picture, the one now tucked safely in my pocket, just before I had read Ace's message, but the thought of a worst case scenario stayed with me until I had parked my car and practically ran inside to the nearest nurse's station. I hadn't even reached the counter when I heard my uncle's voice to the left of me.

"Syla."

I turned on my heel and trotted over to him, instead. "Dragon," I panted. "Where-"

"Take a breath," Dragon said sternly. "He's fine. Has a small cut on his head and a few bruises, but the car took most of the damage. They'll release him in about half an hour."

I let out a long breath and nodded. "What happened?"

Dragon sighed. "One of those things, I guess." He motioned for me to follow him and walked down the hall to one of the waiting areas, continuing with the explanation. "Seems like another driver's brakes went out and the guy ran a red light, hit Zoro broad-side on the passenger door. Kid's lucky there wasn't any more damage than that, as it was a delivery truck. The other guy is alright, too. They gave me the details when we got here."

From what Luffy had told me awhile back, Zoro didn't actually have any blood relatives that he knew about, and so had listed Dragon as an emergency contact for the hospital.

We reached the waiting area and I spotted Ace and Luffy, sitting in the plastic chairs and holding a quiet conversation. They both looked up as we approached and Ace got to his feet. Luffy stayed where he was, although his usual grin was notably absent. Judging by his expression it seemed he understood the full impact of what had happened, which was a little rare for him. Luffy didn't take anything seriously.

"Jeez, the guy is really having a rough time, isn't he?" Ace shook his head. "But at least he's okay."

The comment made me realized something else. "Where's Tashigi?" I asked. It was odd not to see her here and especially with such an event, no matter the trouble between herself and Zoro.

"She's on her way," Ace answered as he sat back down and patted the seat next to him. "I gave her a call a little while ago, since by that point they had finally bullied Zoro into holding still long enough to have his head taken care of." He grinned suddenly. "I guess he was just going to go home, and only agreed to come here because the police at the scene suggested it. They were afraid he might have a concussion or something."

"I'm starting to wonder if that's even possible," I groused, feeling a little foolish for my earlier panic.

We sat in silence for awhile, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I hadn't even realized that the idiot being in danger would effect me so much, and found I was slightly annoyed by the thought. To distract myself I watched Dragon get up and walk off toward the beverage station to pour himself a cup of the tar the hospital tried to pass off as 'coffee'. Wondering if the sludge was even safe to drink, I turned my head a little when Ace poked me in the shoulder.

"Hey, you look kind of pale," he noted. "Were you that worried?"

"Uhm," I said, trying to draw my attention back to my cousin.

"See," Luffy cut in before I could give a half-hearted protest, his grin firmly in place once more. "You do like him. I told you, he's not bad."

I frowned at him, working up to an acceptable argument and reason for my concern, when the green-haired demon himself came around the corner. He had a small bandage on his forehead above his left eye and was holding a stack of release forms in his hand.

"Hey," he greeted, eyes moving from one person to the other. "What's up?"

Luffy bounded from his chair and over to Zoro, examining the bandage before laughing. "Wow, you really are pretty much invincible, aren't you?" he grinned. He seemed to have gotten his energy back with Zoro in sight once more.

Zoro shrugged. "Too bad my car isn't," he smiled back. "Guess I'll have to do something about that soon."

"Speaking of your car, you sure you're alright?" Ace asked as he stood as well. "I can't believe you got out of that thing with just a scratch. What are you made of, anyway?"

"What do you mean?" Zoro looked at him questioningly.

I found myself wondering the same thing.

Before Ace could elaborate, Tashigi came sprinting down the hall like a whirlwind and latched on to the front of Zoro's shirt, sending Luffy stumbling back toward the chairs.

"You idiot!" she sobbed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Zoro nodded. He brought one arm up and wrapped it around Tashigi's thin shoulders as she leaned against him. "It's fine, Tashigi. I'm fine."

"You'd better be," Tashigi mumbled. "Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

I could tell by the way Zoro sighed that he knew she meant more than just the accident, although that was still the focal point of her distress. "Yeah," he said again. "Sorry."

I watched the sudden exchange in surprise, then smiled. Nothing like a good scare to make people pay attention, I thought. Maybe now they had a chance to work out their issues before Tashigi left the city. Standing from the uncomfortable chair I stretched and sighed. "Well," I directed at my family. "We should probably get going. Tashigi, are you going to take him home?"

Tashigi looked up as Zoro released her and turned to face us. "Yeah. Thanks guys."

Dragon, standing at the edge of the waiting area and leaning against the wall, looked at Zoro questioningly. "Will you be alright, son? You did hit your head so you might want someone to stay with you, at least for tonight."

"I think Johnny's still around," Zoro nodded at him. "If not, I'll work something out. Thanks, Dragon."

We began to follow my uncle out of the waiting room, Luffy waving and reminding Zoro of the cook-out the next day and inviting Tashigi as well, when I remembered the picture still in my pocket and doubled back. Tashigi shot me a funny look as I lifted Zoro's hand, the one holding the forms, and slipped the picture upside-down under his thumb. Zoro gave me a nod and a half-smile as I turned and left. "See you guys tomorrow," I waved over my shoulder.

I caught up with the others as they reached the door and Ace glanced back at me. "What was that about?"

"Nothing," I shook my head. "Never mind."

* * *

><p>I arrived at my uncle's house at about five o'clock the following day. Parking in the front I walked through the living room and kitchen to set the bags of chips and soda on the table. Turning, I spotted a pot of boiling potatoes and a few dishes of different kinds of salads. I paused to inspect them before moving through the sliding door to the back yard.<p>

Sanji and Nami were already there, sitting in the lawn chairs and talking with Luffy and Dragon. Ace was standing over by the charcoal grill and was squirting lighter fluid onto the small flames, making them flair up for a few seconds before letting them go back down and repeating the process.

"Pyro," I snickered. "You are having way too much fun with that."

"I'm helping," Ace insisted, grinning as the flames leapt again.

"By starting the back yard on fire?" I chuckled when Ace made a face at me and walked past him at a safe distance to pull a chair up to the one beside Dragon.

Greeting Sanji and Nami with a cheerful wave I stretched out and began to relax. The moment I closed my eyes I felt something solid smack into my shoulder and bounce off, landing on my lap. Looking down, I was met with a long, pale face grinning up from the cover of the GLC local entertainment magazine.

"He made it," Nami smiled at me. She had been the one to throw it, I guessed, judging by the way she was the only one leaning forward with her hand outstretched. "He always said he would."

I picked up the magazine to get a closer look. "I'll be damned," I murmured. "When did this happen?" I hadn't heard anything about the tall, thin man accomplishing so much since the last time I had spoken to him.

"The article says he had a concert at the stadium last week," Nami explained. "It sounds like there was actually more than one act, but Brook was the most popular one. He's already signed to do a few more here, and one in New City." Her tone was almost casual, but I could hear the excitement underlying her words. She, like the rest of us, knew how badly the man wanted to be a musician. By the looks of it, he was well on his way.

"Oh, Brook?" Luffy had leaned over to see the magazine in my hand. "Yeah, he called about a week ago and said that show he played for was really awesome, and that now he had people talking to him about more." He leaned back again with a laugh. "He's such a weird guy."

I reached across my uncle and smacked Luffy on the arm with the magazine. "Why didn't you tell anyone?" I demanded.

"Forgot," Luffy shrugged and looked over at Sanji. "When are we gonna eat? What're we having?"

Sitting back, I returned my attention to the picture on the cover of the magazine as Sanji answered Luffy's incessant questioning about the up-coming dinner. Getting irritated with Luffy about his chronic and somewhat voluntary memory loss was always pointless. He would never change, and honestly no one really minded.

Thirty minutes later the coals were ready and Sanji stood from his chair to start cooking the pork chops, steaks and cobs of corn.

I had moved into Luffy's chair, as he had gone inside to help Ace locate the paper plates and utensils, and was chatting with Nami as Dragon snored lightly on my other side. I doubted it was because my uncle was bored, however. He, like Luffy, Ace and even Zoro, was slightly narcoleptic and could fall asleep almost anywhere, anytime.

Nami and I looked up as Luffy returned to the back yard with Tashigi and Zoro, carrying a basket of eating ware and chattering happily about Sanji's famous cooking. He set his cargo on the small picnic table Ace had dragged over and cleaned off earlier as Sanji replied that the best of his cooking skills were actually for Nami and myself, and of course Tashigi as well.

Ace walked out the back door with the chips and soda just in time to hear the comment. "You wound me, Sanji," he sighed dramatically. "I'm beginning to think all my efforts to capture your attention thus far have gone to waste. "

To which Sanji replied something about 'not meaning what you say', although it was difficult to tell since he was mumbling with his face turned away from the table.

I snorted and Nami snickered behind her hand, trying not to let Sanji catch on that we were amused by his attempts to be courteous to a man who so often blatantly flirted with him, even if Ace never really meant it. The rest of our male friends were far too used to the idea that Ace wasn't interested in women to be bothered by it, but poor Sanji was such an easy target some days I didn't really blame my cousin for teasing him the way he did.

Ace chuckled and turned away, pretending not to notice the blonde cook's blush as he helped Tashigi remove the plates and plastic cups from the basket. Luffy, not having paid attention to the exchange, was standing beside the table with Zoro and asking a stream of questions about the accident the day before.

I watched the moss head as he sat down on the bench of the picnic table and accepted the cup Tashigi handed to him, answering Luffy's ceaseless inquiries with the barely controlled patience he always seemed to have when dealing with the energetic guy. Besides sitting down when he would have usually been standing, he seemed fairly unfazed by the accident's aftermath. The standard white bandage was gone from his forehead and in it's place was a generic, store-bought one instead.

"Hey," Nami's voice broke through my dissection of the cave man's physical health. "What's up?"

I tore my eyes away and turned to look at her instead. "What?"

She tilted her head at me and leaned forward. "Why are you staring at him? Something wrong?"

"No," I answered easily. "Just checking."

"The accident?" Nami asked shrewdly. "He's fine. I'm a little surprised, though. Tashigi sent me a picture of his car after the crash."

I frowned, not sure if I wanted to ask, but didn't have to as Nami dug her phone from her pocket and flipped through it before handing it over to me. "See?" she said.

I took the phone and let out a long breath. Zoro's car had been completely smashed in on the passenger side, curved around as if it had been hit by a train, not a delivery truck. Even the roof was caved in a few places. From the small picture it was difficult to tell how much room had actually been around Zoro after the collision, but it had apparently been just enough to spare him. The rest of it looked like a twisted, tangled mess of metal and glass. "Shit," I murmured, handing the phone back to Nami. "No wonder even Luffy was worried."

Nami shrugged and I got up to walk over to the table as Tashigi called me over, asking what I would like to drink and sitting at the end of the bench closest to Zoro. It was relieving to see that they had obviously talked over the issue and were now comfortable around each other once again. I wouldn't ask how that had happened, it wasn't my business, just knowing that it had happened was enough.

I may not be Zoro's biggest fan but Tashigi was my friend and it had bothered me to see her so stressed about the whole situation.

The food was done in no time and we brought the salads and potatoes outside as well to eat in the back yard, since the dining room table just wasn't big enough for everyone present. Sanji and Luffy sat on either side of Nami in the chairs and Dragon had woken up when Luffy had yelled that it was finally time to eat. I remained at the table with Ace, Tashigi and Zoro, listening to the two kendo fighters banter back and forth amicably about who would win the match.

"You don't have a chance this time, Zoro," Tashigi told him with confidence. "I'll be the one in the winner's circle."

"Keep dreaming, there's no way I'd lose to you," Zoro scoffed and grinned as he stuffed half a potato into his mouth.

I hated to admit it, but he was probably right. Tashigi was good, there was no doubt about that, but Zoro had always been better. I still supported the girl whole-heartedly of course, even if I had a hard time believing she would ever pass Zoro in fighting, and told her repeatedly she could beat him anyway. Only Luffy had ever been able to do such a thing. Unexpectedly for how scrawny my cousin seemed compared to the muscle freak, but there it was.

I stood up to go inside and get some more ice as Ace asked Tashigi about the line up for the match. Having once been a member himself, Ace enjoyed hearing about the progress of the younger students through the years and took every opportunity to listen to it. I heard Tashigi answering just as enthusiastically as I stepped through the door and closed it again behind me.

Rummaging for a bowl I set it on the counter and began to fill it from the ice chest as the door slid open again and I felt rather than saw Zoro come into the kitchen behind me and looked over at him curiously.

"Luffy wants sauce," he said by way of explanation.

"You should tell him to get his gluttonous ass in here and get it himself," I responded, but turned away from the bowl and walked past Zoro to the fridge, removing Luffy's favorite steak sauce. It was the same kind Sanji always cooked with and now Luffy had a difficult time eating any kind of meat without it.

"Thanks," Zoro said as he reached for the bottle. His hand wrapped around my fingers instead and I almost dropped it. "Sorry," he apologized quickly, snatching the bottle and turning to retreat.

"Wait."

Zoro paused a few steps away and turned slowly. "What?"

"I…" Not entirely sure what I wanted him to stay for, I hesitated beside the fridge, moving my eyes away from his gaze up to the bandage on his forehead. On closer inspection I realized it was a child's bandage, light blue with little rubber ducks swimming across it. I smirked suddenly. "Duckies?"

"Yeah," Zoro almost smiled. "The only one Tashigi had." His expression became serious again. "Is that what you wanted me to wait for?"

I was a little thrown off at the lack of sarcasm in his usually sharp tone but ignored it and shook my head. "No." It was as good a time as any, I thought. "I was wondering-" I started, trying to find the right words to ask about the night Ryu had died, why Zoro had been there, but was interrupted by the arrival of a very impatient Luffy as he skipped through the open door.

"Zoro!" he called loudly, although the other man was standing less than a yard away from him. "Did you get lost? Sauce!"

Zoro handed the bottle to my cousin and the pest took off again immediately, completely oblivious once again. I stayed by the fridge, feeling annoyed and relieved at the same time and not sure which emotion was stronger.

Once Luffy had disappeared through the door Zoro turned back to me. "What were you saying?"

I shook my head and returned to my intended task. "Nothing," I shrugged. "Forget about it."

"'Kay," Zoro frowned but didn't press the issue.

Filling the bowl with ice I followed him back outside, trying to shake off the weird feeling still tingling through my fingers.


	6. Chapter 6

So, this one is being a bit of a pain in the ass, Zoro just seems to _not_ want to cooperate. Ever. Is anyone surprised?

Anyway... I know my fight scenes still kind of suck. Sorry, working on it I promise.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or its characters and make no profit from this story (thought I'd throw that in)

Warnings: Brief Language

I used a few more Japanese words in this chapter because of the match, so here's a list to help out:

Keikogi (or keidogi)- top half of the uniform commonly worn by kendo fighters.

Hakama- bottom half of the uniform

Bokken- wooden sword

As always, enjoy!

* * *

><p>Ace left the night of the cook-out and I was disappointed he wasn't able to stay longer. He had to return to his work and classes though and promised to call as soon as he could. In turn I promised to continue keeping an eye on the family.<p>

The week passed by quickly and the only noticeable difference from before was the increase in visits to the store from Zoro and the frequent calls for Tashigi. I guessed the latter were mostly from Pell, judging by the softening in Tashigi's voice during these conversations.

Saturday arrived much sooner than I would have liked and I found myself sitting on a bleacher of the old auditorium at half-past eleven, close to the front and next to Robin. Ussop and Luffy came in a few minutes later and sat on my other side. Pell Falcon, to my surprise, showed up a little later and took a seat beside Luffy, the two of them chatting easily. I guessed by this that they had already met.

Not many people had come to see the match and most of the benches were still empty when the students from the dojo walked out onto the floor to begin getting ready. We talked for awhile longer as we watched the competitors warm up for the matches, ages ranging from around eight or nine to twenty-three, the last group being Tashigi and the Green Ape.

_Stop that_, I told myself firmly. _Be nice_.

The two were stretching on the floor not far from our bench and Tashigi looked up and waved at us. They were both wearing the traditional keikogi and hakama, their bokken laying across their knees. I was a little surprised to see that Zoro had all three of his wooden swords with him today; usually he only reserved his sentoryuu for serious tournaments, and definitely not when facing Tashigi.

We all waved back, Luffy shouting encouragements to both of them, and I looked away as Zoro caught my eye. I was still bothered by what I had nearly asked him in my uncle's kitchen the weekend before and hadn't made much of an effort to talk to him after that. In fact, whenever the moss head had come into the room I suddenly thought of something I had to take care of and left quickly.

Now, turning my attention anywhere but on the object of my irritation I noticed a group of older teenage girls moving along the walk in front of the bleachers. They stopped and giggled as they pointed very obviously at Zoro, who had stood up and was stretching his arms on the bokken over his shoulders while talking to Koshiro Kimura, Tashigi's father. They could admire him all they wanted to, I thought with a frown. They didn't actually have to _deal_ with him.

I scoffed at the girls under my breath as they said things like 'cute' and 'adorable' and kept my eyes on them when they moved further down the walk. Cute and adorable? Where the hell did they come up with that? Smart-mouthed and stubborn would be better descriptions.

I heard Robin chuckle beside me.

"Jealous?" she whispered.

"Why would I be?" I whispered back. Really, what a ridiculous idea.

Robin shook her head, still smiling, and leaned away. "No reason."

I decided to ignore the question and focused on the first match as the announcer called for attention and the first two kids took their stances.

It was a bit of a blur from then on as each pair tried to beat each other one after the other, the announcer calling out every outcome in a drawn-out, bored tone. I paid attention as much as I could while waiting impatiently for the last round. Half-way through the sets Nami arrived and sat herself between Luffy and Ussop.

"Sorry," She apologized. "Didn't think it would take that long to help Nojiko with her painting. Who's up?"

"The Wado Ryu karate," I answered absently, my eyes never leaving the fight. "Brown belt. Kendo is next."

We watched as a winner from the brown belt division was called, then the black belt as well. Luffy whooped and cheered at the end of each match, inhibition and social etiquette thrown out the window, not that he had much to begin with. No one seemed to mind the extra encouragement however, and the officials didn't try to stop him.

Next up were Tashigi and Zoro. They bowed to each other, took their stances, and at the signal launched into a series of swift dives, parries and sweeps, their movements fast and efficient.

I frowned but didn't take my eyes from the match. "Didn't Zoro have three bokken with him?" I asked. I was sure he had, although as he faced off with Tashigi, springing gracefully around the floor for someone of his size, he only used one wooden sword.

"Don't know," Nami shrugged disinterestedly. Robin and Ussop were also quiet, too riveted on the fight to give it much thought.

It took less than a minute for Zoro to throw Tashigi off-balance with a carefully calculated strike and knock the bokken from her hands, his expression giving nothing away. Tashigi scowled for a moment before shooting Zoro a lop-sided grin and bending to pick up the fallen bokken, clapping him on the shoulder as she moved off the floor. Zoro stayed where he was and the small crowd in the auditorium began to murmur when Koshiro walked up to him with two more bokken.

"What's going on?" Nami wondered out loud.

"I don't-" I started, but before I could finish the short sentence Luffy had leapt from his seat on the bleachers and over the railing, landing on the hard floor. He straightened and pulled his black hoodie off over his head to reveal a white chest guard and arm protectors. Luffy grinned over at Zoro, who returned it, and walked to the middle of the floor to face off with the kendo master.

"Last match," the announcer said loudly over the low hum of the crowd. "Luffy D. Monkey versus Zoro Roronoa. Bonus round." He sat back down and explained again for the two to start when Koshiro dropped his arm.

The rest of us sat on the bleachers, mouths open in surprise. I hadn't heard anything about Luffy competing in a bonus round and, judging by the reactions of the others, no one else had, either.

Zoro took a two-piece mouth guard from the pocket of his hakama and set it in place before clamping his teeth around the hilt of one of the bokken, the other two held tightly in his hands. It was completely mental, sword-fighting with one's mouth, but no one had ever claimed that Zoro was sane.

Luffy smiled again and dove forward without a sound when Koshiro's arm dropped suddenly.

If the fight between Tashigi and Zoro had been fast, it was nothing compared to this. My cousin dodged the bokken, jamming his arms forward to block and punch at the same time, legs swinging out with bruising force before leaping out of the way of another strike from Zoro. The kendo master was equally fast, all three bokken moving with incredible fluidity and speed. They weaved across the floor, their feet barely seeming to touch the ground, their focus on nothing but each other and their movements.

It was beyond amazing, to say the very least. For several minutes no one dared move or blink, or even breath, not wanting to miss even a second of the breath-taking action. Any and all matches between this particular pairing had always been made more interesting by the fighting styles favored by the two men: while Zoro had graduated to using three weapons instead of the usual single bokken, Luffy's movements had, somewhere along the line, evolved from simple karate into a kind of mixed martial arts that had a very Luffy-ish flare to them. Most of the time this kind of fighting would be banned in official tournaments, but as a bonus round in general and these two fighters in particular, it seemed the dojo had made an exception for the day.

The match ended abruptly with one of Zoro's bokken against Luffy's throat, another on his ribcage. Luffy had one fist under Zoro's adam's apple and his knee between his opponent's legs in a very dangerous stance for the other man. For a moment I thought Zoro had won, until I saw the elbow of Luffy's left arm against the bokken next to his neck, blocking the faux attack. It was a draw.

For several seconds no one moved, it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Then, the bleachers erupted in a loud cheer and Luffy and Zoro stepped away from each other, grinning and panting. I couldn't help but laugh as I cheered along with Nami and Ussop while the two men walked over to us.

"Draw!" the announcer shouted unnecessarily. No one seemed to hear him as we left the bench to lean against the railing, congratulating our friends on the surprise match.

"I can't _believe_ you were able to keep that a secret," Nami smirked down at Luffy. "Really, how long were you guys planning this?"

"A few weeks," Zoro shrugged. He untied his keikogi and let it hang open to cool off as Tashigi gave him a plastic cup filled with water. "It was Luffy's idea."

"I kinda miss these things," Luffy grinned. "So Koshiro said it would be okay for me to fight Zoro in a match today. Pretty cool, huh?" He began unbuckling his chest guard, still smiling, eyes sparkling with adrenaline. "Maybe I should re-join," he suggested, looking at Zoro. "Might be fun."

"As if you ever left," Tashigi snorted lightly and handed a cup to Luffy as well. "You're there practically every day, anyway." She turned away from them to grin up at Pell. "I lost," she explained, as if the man hadn't been there the entire time. Pell said a few bracing words in a gentle tone, leaning down on the railing next to Nami and smiling at Tashigi.

I didn't hear much of the exchange as my attention had turned back to Luffy and Zoro. They were discussing further the possibility of Luffy not only re-joining the dojo, but also teaching a class or two as well. I tried to imagine that and failed miserably. But really, it wasn't so much the conversation that was holding my interest. Surprisingly it was the swordsman.

Zoro was in the middle of simultaneously bashing Luffy's short attention span and telling him he would make a good teacher, which was a bit confusing for anyone who didn't understand the two or how they communicated. He said something in a low tone, tapping the handle of his bokken against Luffy's shoulder and smirking in his trademark 'I'm going to win this argument, so don't even try' way. And he did. Within minutes Luffy was agreeing to the arrangement and Zoro trotted off to tell Koshiro.

I watched him go, thinking that if this was the way he interacted with his friends, maybe I had been missing out on a few things after all. However, there was no way in hell I was going to admit that Ace had been right. Not out loud, anyway.

It was only after the moss ball left that I realized Robin had been trying to get my attention for the past twenty seconds or so. I turned at the feel of her hand on my arm and was met with a pair of concerned blue eyes. "Sorry," I said, shaking my head to clear it. "What were you saying?"

Robin's gaze flicked to Zoro's retreating figure and back to me. She opened her mouth, closed it again almost immediately and shook her head. "It's nothing," she said, smiling. "Just that, you might want to get your things. We're leaving."

I looked around in surprise to see the others now strolling down the walkway with Tashigi and Luffy following on the auditorium floor. "Oh," I quickly snatched up my jacket and phone. "Right. Sorry." Ignoring Robin's raised eyebrow I moved past her to follow them.

"So," Ussop started as everyone began gathering at the end of the bleachers to meet up with each other properly. "Who's up for some lunch?"

* * *

><p>One week later I stood in Robin's wide living room and waited not-so-patiently for the others to finish getting ready for the evening. It wasn't going as smoothly as some of us had hoped.<p>

Brook had called the week before to announce that we had all been invited to the GLC Entertainment After Party as his guests. It was a formal event and Nami had wasted no time taking the boys shopping while Robin and I picked out dresses for the upcoming party, I a bit more grudgingly than the other woman. Still, I wasn't about to say no to Brook, especially when the man had worked so hard to get where he was now.

Nami, Robin and I had come up with the best way to survive the well-meaning invitation and still come out in one piece. We had decided to all go together so no one would be late, or get lost, and Robin had offered to let everyone apply the last touches to their outfits at her house, as it was the closest to the venue. We would then carpool to the location to meet our host for the evening. It had seemed like a flawless plan. However, we had forgotten a crucial part of our scheduling; getting most of our boys into suits was a lot like continuously beating ourselves in the face with a hammer. It would feel much better when it was over.

It had taken me two hours and an entire bag of cookies to convince Luffy to wear the tailored suit Nami had picked out for him and Ussop was so nervous about dressing up he had spilled juice on his white button shirt and had to borrow one of Aces, which was a little too big on him. I was already cranky from being force to wear a dress under pain of death from Nami and as a result everyone's tempers were short by the time we reached Robin's house.

Nami and Sanji were already there. Sanji had yet to change into his formal wear but Nami was wearing a strapless, shimmering silver gown with a slit up the side, the body of it fitting snugly against her curves. Her short hair was pulled up in a clip, leaving just her bangs and side pieces framing her face and her neck and arms sparkled with several bits of jewelry. Robin was smiling next to her in a one-shouldered, floor-length lavender dress, black hair in large waving curls.

Sanji appeared to be two seconds away from a full out nosebleed and I released the boys I had brought with me to distract him. I checked the state of my own dress, a long, dark blue halter-topped gown with a wide band waist, just to make sure everything was still in order after the interesting car ride.

Taking pity on the blonde man, Robin told Luffy and Ussop where the snacks were hidden and they ran to the kitchen as Nami pulled me into Robin's bathroom to fix my hair.

Fifteen minutes later Sanji was getting ready in the back room, Luffy was being his usual psychotic self and Zoro still hadn't arrived.

I was now standing next to Robin while she helped Ussop with the tie that was trying to strangle him and he blushed and muttered under his breath about not really wanting to be a fill-in. Franky, it seemed, had something 'very important' come up quite suddenly and couldn't make it to the party. I had a sneaking suspicion it had more to do with the fact that he had never worn a suit in his life and wasn't about to start now. Chopper was also exempt as he was still seventeen and this was an adult-only sort of gathering.

Tapping my heeled foot on the carpet I waited for Sanji to come out of Robin's spare bedroom so I could get the handbag I had accidentally left on the dresser. My phone was in it and I wanted to text Zoro to ask why the hell he wasn't there yet, as we were supposed to be leaving in less than ten minutes.

To distract myself I turned away from the clock on the wall and looked over to the other side of the open area. Luffy, who's own tie was around his forehead like a war band, was being chased around Robin's kitchen by Nami in an effort to get him to hold still long enough to make him half-way presentable. My cousin laughed and danced around the table as Nami's stiletto heels clacked after him angrily and she shouted threats that were instantly ignored.

Poor Nami. Apparently she didn't know a lost cause when she saw one.

The aggravated redhead was saved by a very unlikely source as the back door swung in suddenly and knocked Luffy forward enough for Nami to catch him by the collar. They both looked around as Zoro walked into the kitchen, yawning widely and holding a long piece of black fabric in one hand.

"Where have you been?" Nami snapped at him as she whipped Luffy around toward where Robin and I were standing.

I caught Luffy by the arm and pulled his tie down to his neck so Robin could fix it, not really paying attention to either of them anymore. I knew I was staring but I couldn't seem to stop myself. Zoro was wearing a _suit_. Not just any suit, either. A very _nice_ black three-piece suit, complete with a dark red shirt visible at the collar of the jacket under his three gold earrings. Honestly I had expected him to show up in a plain button-down shirt and black jeans or something similar. I had to admit, the over-all effect of the change was stunning.

Zoro didn't get the chance to reply to Nami's accusing outburst as Sanji sauntered in from the hallway and leaned against the side of the couch, hands stuck in the pockets of his dark navy suit.

Sanji's gaze went immediately to the door. "The shitty moss head owns something that isn't a t-shirt?" He drawled with a smirk. "The world really is coming to an end."

"Stuff it, asshole cook," Zoro growled. He stepped the rest of the way into the kitchen and closed the back door behind him. "It's not mine. I borrowed it."

Sanji looked like he was about to say something else when Nami stomped over to him and started yelling about taking _twenty minutes _on his hair alone. He immediately turned sheepish and began a stuttering explanation, complete with dramatic gesturing and almost-hidden proclamations of his love for her.

I snorted and turned away from them to find Zoro standing only a couple of feet from me now, still holding the strip of fabric in one hand. He sighed as if resigning himself to some horrific fate and held it out to me. Belatedly, I recognized it as the suit's matching tie.

I glanced over at Robin, hoping she would be willing to help the cave man since Nami and Sanji were a little busy at the moment, and realized she was still trying to pull the knot from Luffy's partially wrecked tie while Ussop attempted to help her. Seeing no other solution if we were going to make it to the party on time, I reached out and took the tie from the obnoxious monster. "Come here, then."

Zoro turned his body to face me and held still as I looped it over his head and under his collar to tie it properly. It was much easier than having to help either Luffy or Ace with theirs, as they tended to get impatient after the first two seconds and began _un_tying the damn things.

"So, where's Tashigi?" I asked, mostly to lessen the awkward atmosphere as my fingers accidentally brushed Zoro's neck and he jumped slightly.

"She had a date with Pell," Zoro explained, looking anywhere but at me. "Some stupidly fancy restaurant. Couldn't change the reservations, so she had to back out of this one."

"I see," I nodded. I concentrated on the folds of the tie to keep myself from wondering how he really felt about the whole Tashigi moving half-way across the country business. I knew wasn't my concern, but after that night in my apartment I seemed to be taking more of an interest in the green-haired monster than I thought was very necessary. Or very smart.

"Hey," Zoro said suddenly. "I still need to be able to breath, you know."

I looked at my hands and realized I had pulled the tie a little tighter than I had meant to. "Don't complain," I muttered, adjusting the fold back down to where it should be. "No one else is available and you definitely can't do it yourself. You're all thumbs."

"Not my fault," he said. "I haven't worn a tie since…" He turned his face away from me and frowned again.

_Since Kuina_, I finished silently. I pulled my hands away and stepped back, feeling even more awkward than before. "Uhm," I said, searching for something to say. "You look…nice." At least it was the truth. "For a Neanderthal, anyway." Well, I couldn't let him get a big head, could I?

"Thanks," Zoro gave a half-grin. "You too. For a demon." He gave my dress a once-over and turned away as Nami pulled Sanji over to the rest of us, the shimmering silver fabric of her long skirt swishing around her legs.

"Let's go," she ordered. "I'll fine you all twenty dollars each if we're late."

Zoro and I shared a grin, not really worried about the redhead's threats. Anything Nami 'fined' us for went into a community share that was then put toward any get-togethers we had, paying for food and drink, mostly. Still, it was never a good idea to get on Nami's bad side and we all made a quick exit, doing a last-minute check for our belongings and gathering jackets and shawls before moving on our way to the party.


	7. Chapter 7

Gah, this chapter was particularly difficult for some reason. Sorry if there is a lot of filler in it, the next one will be more informative.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

Warnings: Brief Language.

* * *

><p>We had taken the van Franky usually used to transport his workers from one end of the city to the other, in order to have enough room for everyone without feeling like a can of sardines. Robin was driving with Nami in the front passenger seat, giving directions to reach the up-scale venue located in the middle of the downtown district.<p>

I was sitting on the second bench with Luffy on one side and Sanji on the other as I continued the struggle with Luffy's knotted tie.

"What the hell did you do to this poor thing, Luffy?" I asked. My fingers slipped on the silk knot when the van hit a small pothole and I scowled, trying to resist the urge to strangle him with the expensive bit of apparel.

"Just cut it off," Luffy whined. "Why do I even need a tie, anyway?" He had already had enough of people pulling on the fabric around his neck and was more than ready to be rid of it completely. I didn't feel very sorry for him, seeing as it was his fault to begin with.

"You are _not_ cutting that tie, Luffy!" Nami snapped from the front seat. "That thing is almost pure silk, don't you dare waste it by ruining it even more!"

Luffy flopped back against the back of the bench in defeat and I almost did strangle him by accident.

"Hold still," I told him. "I've almost got it."

By the time Robin had found a decent parking spot, which also happened to be four blocks from the venue, I had in fact managed to undo the knot and tie the little beast properly. It was still a bit wrinkled but it would have to work for the evening.

We climbed out of the van and began walking to the venue, which Nami informed us was called The Rumbar Villa, and for the first time that night I began to feel a little excited about the after party. The place was supposed to be incredibly beautiful on the inside, with a wide dance floor and open bar flanking the seating area. Not to mention the fact that I hadn't seen Brook in several weeks. I missed his eccentric behavior, even if he could be slightly on the perverted side, sometimes.

The Rumbar Villa was also, as we found out three steps into the door, a bit old-fashioned regarding some of their entrance requirements. Apparently the women had to be escorted into the main dance hall but after that were free to wander as they chose. This was explained to us by the doorman when Nami tried to stomp her way past him, holding on tightly to Luffy so he didn't begin his path of unintentional destruction before we could at least meet with our friend.

Nami shot the doorman a poisonous look and adjusted her hold on Luffy so their arms were locked together. At an approving nod from said doorman, she swept past him and turned to call behind her, "Pair off, then. The sooner we find Brook, the better."

Sanji and Robin were next through the door, the blonde cook barely managing to contain his gushing as he guided Robin into the enormous foyer-looking entrance and through another door to the right leading to, I assumed, the dance hall.

I grabbed Ussop's arm as he tried to slink past me and yanked him forcefully to my side. "Nice try," I hissed. "You're not getting away that easy."

Ussop submitted meekly and we walked inside, leaving Zoro to follow behind us with his hands shoved into the pockets of his suit pants. I could hear him muttering under his breath in annoyance but ignored him and turned my attention to finding the rest of our group as we made our way through the second set of doors.

It wasn't quite as difficult as I thought it would be; there were many people already inside the hall and a few more couples walked in behind us as we paused to scan the crowd. The room itself was decorated in dark red and gold, reminding me a lot of an old theater, with a dance floor on the opposite side of the room and a glass wall to our left separating the bar from the rest of the area. Small, round tables with plain white table cloths filled the space around the dance floor in an L-shape and in the far corner I could see a band setting up to begin their sets for the evening.

Brook stood on the dark red carpet between the tables and the polished floor, his tall figure and large afro instantly eye-catching. Luffy, Nami, Robin and Sanji were already next to him. Brook raised one thin hand in greeting as we approached and bowed first to me, then the two men on either side of me.

"Friends," he said happily, "I am absolutely delighted you could all attend tonight. In fact, it would hardly be the same without you here to share this wonderful event with yours truly."

I smiled at his strange, formal speech, still not completely used to it even after knowing the man for so many years, and tipped my head back to see him better. "Thanks for the invite," I said. "We're happy to be here."

"That's right," Nami agreed as Robin nodded next to her. "We're also really happy for you, Brook. This is amazing." She flashed a dazzling smile toward him and the tall man practically melted on the spot.

"So there's food here, right?" Luffy asked.

"Luffy!" Nami and I both scolded. Seriously, the guy had no manners whatsoever, although knowing him his entire life I wasn't all that surprised eating would be on the top of his to-do list even at a formal celebration.

"Why, of course!" Brook laughed. "Next to the glass wall." He pointed at the long table heavily laden with plates. "Please, help yourself."

Luffy was gone before Nami could grab him again, bounding away toward the promise of a delicious, and no doubt pricy, variety of dishes. I shook my head in resignation and looked over as Zoro walked past me in the same direction Luffy had run off in.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Booze," he answered shortly without looking back.

"Do enjoy yourself, Zoro!" Brook called cheerfully. "This establishment boasts some of the best beverage selections on this side of the country!"

"I doubt he's that picky," I said with a smirk. "It's only wasted on him, really."

"Uncultured brute," Sanji shook his head in disgust before moving his attention to our musician friend. "Anyway, congratulations Brook. Nicely done."

"Thank you, Sanji," Brook beamed. "I must admit I was more than a little surprised when I received the call to join in the concert that started all of this. I thought perhaps simply performing at Triangle Hall would be as far as I could reach in this career. I had no idea an agent had been visiting for weeks to watch me play."

We all agreed it was a fortunate turn of events and the tall man bowed to Nami as the band in the corner began playing a jazzier rendition of a musical classic. "Miss Nami," he began in a charming tone. "Would you care to accompany me in this primary dance?"

Nami looked like she wasn't sure whether to laugh or roll her eyes at him as she answered. "Alright. Since this is your night I suppose one dance wouldn't hurt anything." She allowed him to lead her off to the dance floor, which was slowly beginning to fill with other couples as we watched.

Not to be outdone by the musician, Sanji glanced between myself and Robin in a thoughtful manner. I quickly made the excuse of checking on Luffy before turning on my heel and running off, grabbing Ussop by the hand as I did so and pulling him along. I was not really in the mood for dancing but didn't want to hurt Sanji's feelings, either. Luffy was a perfect reason to avoid it, and not an entirely made-up reason at that.

We found my cousin at the end of the long banquet table, stuffing his face with different kinds of meats and listening with partial interest to a girl with long blue hair. The girl was wearing a fancy white dress with a hint of eastern design to it, and looked slightly familiar. I finally recognized her as Vivi Nefertari, the daughter of Cobra Nefertari and heiress of the Nefertari Incorporation, making her somewhat like the princess of Grand Line City. Despite her position she was rumored to be an incredibly kind person, although I myself hadn't seen her in several years.

They both looked around as Ussop and I approached.

"Look, Vivi's back," Luffy said unnecessarily, gesturing at the girl with the plate in his hand.

Vivi nodded to us politely. "Yes," she said. "I'm finished with school so I'll be around more now, studying with my father to learn how to run the business."

"That's great," I smiled. "I'm sure you'll do just fine with it."

We continued with the small talk for several minutes, about Vivi's old school and our city and the few changes that had been made in her absence. I glanced over toward the dance floor to see Nami now spinning around in the arms of Sanji, frowning a little as she talked to him. I could practically hear her tone and had to guess that she was currently berating him for his silly antics involving the women around them. Sanji was nodding and smiling in a way that told me he wasn't listening to a word of it and I couldn't stop the small giggle that escaped me at the sight.

It was difficult to tell if the blonde man was actually interested in Nami in a romantic way, for all the attention he showered her with and the ridiculous claims of eternal devotion. The two had been good friends since their middle school days and, although they had never dated, Sanji simply seemed to enjoy getting a reaction from Nami with all of his flirting and doting, both on her and any other woman he happened to cross paths with. I also wasn't certain that Nami actually _cared _who he flirted with most of the time. The back-and-forth banter, although mostly on Nami's part, had become a kind of game to them over time and I couldn't begin to imagine either of them not participating in it anymore.

I moved my gaze along the many other couples and spotted Robin dancing with, of all people, _Zoro_. And the green-haired demon could certainly _dance_. I wasn't entirely sure how anyone had managed to drag the surly man away from his alcohol and out onto the floor, but as I looked on in shock it was impossible to miss the grace of his movements. The way his feet carried him perfectly through the small crowd and the ease with which he guided Robin along with him were almost as hypnotizing as his fighting styles.

This was the most unexpected thing I had witnessed in a long time. I had to get a closer look.

Excusing myself from the current conversation I made my way back through the half-empty tables and across the carpet to where Brook now stood chatting animatedly with a man I didn't know. He looked around as I reached his side and gave me a wide smile. I returned it briefly and focused on Zoro and Robin again.

The brute had remove his jacket and Robin was laughing as Zoro spun her around and back, ending the move with a quick dip before carefully righting her once more and continuing the rest of the dance. He wasn't scowling nearly as much now, either. In fact, he seemed to be more than a little amused, which was even more surprising.

I blinked slowly several times and looked again, but they were still moving along the floor and looking thoroughly entertained with the entire situation. As happy as it made me to see Robin cutting loose a bit and enjoying herself, the source of it still floored me. Since when did Zoro ever dance? Voluntarily even, if his expression was anything to go by.

I groaned inwardly as I realized this little revelation was only another thing Ace had been referring to when he said I didn't know the man very well. This was definitely not going to be brought up in our next phone conversation. Or ever, really.

"It would seem Zoro has some hidden talent," Brook remarked from beside me. "He is not the kind to brag about such things, or even admit to them I suppose, but those who train their bodies the way he does often find rhythm much easier to understand than it would be for others. Including the rhythm of music, apparently."

I tore my attention away from the dance floor, noting that the man I didn't know had disappeared at some point while I was busy gawking, and nodded. "I guess so," I agreed.

Brook made a low chuckling sound. "I'm explaining this to ease your expression of shock, dear Syla."

I tilted my face up to him again and grinned sheepishly. "Am I that obvious?"

"Quite," he said cheerfully.

I looked away from Brook as Robin and Zoro finally stopped dancing and walked over to us. Robin was smiling, her cheeks flushed, but Zoro remained as expressionless as he had been before their little turn on the floor.

"Thank you, Zoro," Robin said earnestly as she dropped his arm. "I wasn't sure I would be dancing much tonight when Franky said he couldn't make the invitation. Thanks to you and Sanji I was proven wrong in my assumptions, so thank you. It was quite entertaining."

"Its no big deal," Zoro shrugged. "I actually don't mind dancing."

I was on the verge of telling him that it was very obvious he didn't mind it when Robin spoke again.

"Syla, you haven't danced yet tonight. Why not ask Zoro?" Her words were simple, polite even, but I could detect a hint of rare mischief in her tone and turned to glare at her.

"Sure," Zoro gave an answer before I had the chance to do it. He tilted his head for a moment, listening. "Sounds like a slower song. Shouldn't be too hard, right?" One dark eyebrow rose up in question.

Well, that was a veiled challenge if I ever heard one. "Alright," I agreed. I took his offered arm automatically and was only later shocked that he had even considered doing something like that. When had the cave man transformed into a gentleman? Maybe he was channeling Sanji to some degree or, I thought with a smirk, maybe it was some kind of magic suit he was wearing. One that turned even the most pig-headed and barbaric of men into charming princes.

I was still trying not to giggle at the sudden imagery as Zoro stopped walking and swung me around, one hand clasped loosely around mine and the other resting on the small of my back. I raised my free hand to his shoulder as the first shudder of nervousness ran through my chest. A waltz? I hated waltzes. But it was too late to back out at this point.

Zoro moved us easily around the dance floor and my suspicions were confirmed; he was an excellent dancer. He didn't even seem to be aware of his movements on a conscious level, feet and body following the rhythm of the mellow music with ease. I relaxed enough to allow myself to follow without tripping him up too much. It was easier said than done.

"So," I started, mostly to fill the heavy silence that had fallen between us the moment we walked away from the others. "Why did you call me?"

I winced a little as Zoro shot me a puzzled look. What the hell was _wrong_ with my mouth? Couldn't I just keep the thought to myself without it spitting it out at the most random of times?

"When?" Zoro asked. He guided us back to move around another couple and I automatically followed him.

"The other night," I sighed. There was no other choice but to ask at this point, as the question was already out in the open. "A couple of weeks ago. When you called for a ride and stayed in my- apartment." I looked away with another grimace. The words _In my bed _might be the truth, but it was still a little awkward to say them out loud.

"Oh," Zoro said after another moment. "That." His habitual frown made its appearance as he continued to guide us across the floor. He was quiet for so long I thought he wasn't going to answer, until, "I trust you."

It was said so simply, as if it should have been obvious to begin with, that I was completely thrown off. I turned my attention back to his silly green head and gaped at him. "What?" I asked, and of course couldn't quite stop the next question. "Why?"

Zoro made a huffing sound, although more in thought than irritation, and I could tell he wanted to run a hand through his hair as was habitual for him when caught in an undesirable situation. Unfortunately for him both of his hands were currently occupied, so he settled with biting on his lower lip and frowning again.

"Look," he started. "I do actually trust you. You've always been around to help, even though you don't like me-"

"I never said-" I cut in, but Zoro tightened his grip on my waist to stop me.

"I _know_ you don't," he said firmly. "And I can't really say I blame you, either. I have been kind of an ass. Sorry for that."

I studied his features, feeling a little suspicious, but he seemed sincere enough in what he was saying. I sighed and looked away, still trying to keep up with his footwork as he guided us both around the floor. It was a bit difficult to concentrate on my own dancing and think too much about what he was saying, and I blame the distraction for what I said next. "Then why didn't you say anything about that night?"

"What night?" Zoro asked. He was frowning again, brow drawn down in confusion.

This wasn't really how I had pictured bringing up the recovered memory thing, on the middle of a dance floor during our friend's celebration party, but I figured it was a 'now or never' kind of situation. I doubted I would have the guts to attempt to bring it up a third time. Taking a deep breath I turned my face away from him and made the plunge.

"The night Ryu died," I started slowly, trying to measure my words before I began spilling nervous nonsense instead. "I didn't remember until a couple of weeks ago, but you were there, weren't you? On the lawn, almost the same second I got there."

Zoro had nearly tripped on the next step and was now noticeably more tense than he had been before. "Yeah," he agreed after a moment. "I was."

"What were you doing?" This was the question that had been in my mind the most, ever since I caught the scent of that night on the moss head's shirt. "It was so late, and our apartment wasn't all that close to yours. How did you know?"

Zoro gave a very heavy sigh as the song changed from a waltz to a slow two-step dance, adjusting his hold accordingly and changing our pace to match the rhythm of the music. I was relieved I no longer had to think so hard about where my feet were going and could wait for his answer instead without worrying about accidentally stepping on him. It wasn't so much that I was terrible at multi-tasking, more like I was too interested in the conversation to pay attention to the dancing part.

"Honestly I had no idea what had happened," he said. "I was headed to Johnny's house, not too far from where you were actually, and just kind of…took a detour."

I felt my mouth hanging open but it took a few seconds to recover long enough to close it again. Really, I shouldn't have been so surprised at the reply. Of all the reasons he could have confessed to, I should have been able to guess that one. "You ended up there because you were _lost_?"

What were the odds, anyway?

"No," Zoro insisted. "I took a detour." He pulled me a few inches closer in an almost subconscious move as his tone softened suddenly. "Did you really forget?"

"Yeah," I nodded, still not looking at him. "I don't remember much from that time, actually. I had no idea…" I trailed off as I recalled the initial shock of realizing the calm, comforting presence that had always been nothing more than a slight shadow at the back of my memory had been _Zoro_. Even now, it was a little hard to believe.

"I actually figured as much," Zoro shrugged. "Can't say I blame you, either. It was pretty hard on you, after all. More than understandable."

I felt myself frown in reaction to his easy answer. "Aren't you mad?"

"What?" Zoro sounded genuinely surprised. "Why would I be mad?" He was looking down at the top of my head, I could practically feel his stare, and after several moments of silence asked, "Syla? You okay?"

My feet had kept moving on their own, but my brain had ground to an almost painful halt. I had assumed he would at least be annoyed that I had been so cold to him after he had made such an attempt at comforting me and the lack of bitterness had me re-thinking almost everything I knew about him. He really was a strange man.

"I don't understand," I mumbled. "How are you not upset? I've been kind of hard on you for years, even though you helped me with something so serious that night. And several nights after that, too." I sighed again and turned my head so I was facing his broad shoulder, still refusing to look up at his expression. "But I swear, I didn't remember until recently."

I heard Zoro take a long breath just before he said, "Why does it bother you so much? Because you didn't recognize me or because you think you owe me something now?"

I thought it might have actually been a little bit of both, but didn't know how to explain this to him. When I didn't answer after awhile Zoro stopped dancing abruptly, dropping my hand and waist and hooking my arm in his, leading me off the dance floor.

"What-" started, thrown off by the suddenness of his actions.

"You don't owe me a damn thing," Zoro said, his tone surprisingly hard as he pulled me toward where Robin and Brook were still standing at the edge of the tables, talking quietly. "I didn't do it for any thanks, so save your breath." He stopped talking when we reached the carpeted area and let go of my arm. "I'm going out for some fresh air," he directed toward the musician. "I'll be back. Probably."

Brook and Robin looked on in surprised silence as Zoro moved past them without another word, heading toward the main entrance. I couldn't say I blamed them for their stunned expressions at all. I had glimpsed the cave man's face when he released me and didn't think I had seen him look so angry in a long time, not when he was mostly sober, anyway. That it was a kind of suppressed anger made it all the more worrying.

With Zoro out of sight Brook and Robin turned their concerned gazes to me, but I was already heading for the buffet table before either of them could ask what had happened.

"I'm going to go find Luffy," I called over my shoulder. My cousin's crazy whims would be a perfect distraction from the confusion in my head, and I also felt a sudden need to talk to him.

Of all the things for Zoro to decide to be angry about, that one just didn't make sense to me. I had to wonder if I was missing something, if I had said or done anything in the past to make him react the way he had and if there was any way to understand what was going through that moss-covered brain of his.

Luffy had been there. He would know how to fix it.


	8. Chapter 8

A little shorter than the others but I got a little stuck for awhile. Also not much movement in the story just yet. Sorry.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece

Warnings: Some Language

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><p>I searched for a good fifteen minutes but couldn't find Luffy anywhere. Trying a different approach I began scanning the area for any signs of destruction and mayhem, listening for unexpected crashing or shrieks of outrage. Still nothing. He didn't seem to be in the enormous room at all. If that was the case…where the hell was he?<p>

Taking another quick walk around the hall I eventually spotted Nami. She was sitting on the other side of the glass wall, pulled up to the bar with a tall drink in her hand. I frowned and made my way to the bar area. It wasn't really like Nami to decide to leave the main group and drink alone, and I wondered what might be going on with her.

Sliding through the door I walked the few steps over to my friend and sat myself on the stool beside her. "Hey," I greeted casually.

Nami gave a half-hearted nod in my direction and took a long drink from the glass in her hand.

I barely managed to keep from raising an eyebrow at her but couldn't quite stop my frown. The redhead was usually more responsive than this. Deciding to let the reason for her odd behavior be for the moment, I leaned one arm on the bar and asked, "Have you seen Luffy recently? I can't seem to find him anywhere."

Nami nearly choked on her next sip, her cheeks turning even pinker than they were already, and the moment she recovered, tipped the remainder of the glass down her throat in one go.

"Whoa," I protested. "Slow down, Nami. You'll make yourself sick." I waited until she had set the now empty glass down on the bar and taken a deep breath before finally asking, "What was that about?"

"Luffy's outside, I think," Nami responded quietly. "With Zoro."

Well, at least someone was there to watch him, I thought briefly before turning my attention back to the other girl. "Did he break anything or try to run off again?" I ventured. "Is that why you're attempting to drown yourself in expensive vodka?"

Nami ordered another beverage and waited until it had arrived before speaking again, "No. Sanji caught him hiding food in the pockets of his jacket and sent him outside, just after Zoro passed by." She took another healthy swallow of her drink, bowing her head for a long moment. "And…he said I look pretty tonight," she mumbled, so quietly that I almost didn't catch it.

"Who?" I asked, finally letting my eyebrow rise up to my bangs. "Sanji? Isn't that normal? He says it all the time." I didn't really see why she would be so flustered over our blonde friend's compliments, as they did tend to happen on a daily basis. And she was flustered; not angry or upset, but…embarrassed?

"No," Nami shook her head. "Not Sanji. Luffy."

I nearly fell off my stool. "_What?_" Since when did Luffy _ever_ notice how someone looked? My outburst only served to make Nami turn even further away from me, so I quickly amended, "Is that a bad thing?" A weird and unexpected thing, yes. But bad?

"Well, no," Nami shrugged, her voice still pitched low. "I guess not. But… I mean…Why would he say that?"

"Probably because you do," I answered without hesitation. Really, it was more of a fact than anything. "Is something wrong?"

Nami didn't respond to that, chewing on her bottom lip and staring at the wall behind the bar. I studied her profile intently, taking in the way her manicured nails tapped the side of the glass in an almost nervous gesture. Her legs were crossed under the long silver skirt, one heeled foot jangling with an uncharacteristic energy.

It was definitely a bizarre reaction to something Luffy had probably intended as completely innocent, and I was still lost as to the reason for it. Really, they had spent so much time together over the last several years, and even more so recently…

And then it hit me. The way Nami treated Luffy, how she seemed to be frequently angry with him but never left him alone for long in spite of it. How she automatically seemed to gravitate toward him when she wasn't fending off Sanji or yelling at the blonde for being ridiculous. Most of all, how she was never fully relaxed unless my cousin was somewhere in sight. I had always assumed Nami had simply taken on the responsibility of being Luffy's self-appointed guardian for when he got out of control, but now had the feeling I had just discovered a completely new reason for her wanting to be close to him all the time.

"Nami," I started slowly. Something of my discovery must have been evident in my tone, as my friend whipped her head around to look at me with wide brown eyes when I pressed on. "Do you-"

"Please don't say anything!" Nami pleaded before I could fully ask the question, having realized what I was thinking. "I only just figured it out myself, not too long ago. I don't….I can't let him know. Not yet, anyway," she added when my wondering look turned into a frown. "Please, Syla."

Her sudden reaction was all the proof I needed, and after another moment of consideration I sighed and nodded, assuring her I would keep it to myself. It was really between them, anyway. Besides, I had enough on my plate with trying to figure out what was wrong with the group's second biggest idiot to have too much time to dwell on Luffy's potential love life. Although the Zoro issue could probably wait for now too, I reasoned.

Turning on my stool I flagged down the bartender and ordered a drink stronger than what I would have normally chosen. "I'll stay in here with you for awhile, if you don't mind," I said.

Nami gave me a smile that told me she knew exactly why I had chosen to stay, and that it didn't have anything to do with herself or Luffy. Not really, at any rate. "Of course I don't mind," she answered. "And don't worry about that guy. He'll come around."

I had to assume that by 'that guy' she meant Zoro, and wondered exactly how much she knew about what was going on with him. Not to mention how she had guessed that his past actions and my present ones were what I had been pondering over lately. Biting my tongue on the subject for the moment I instead asked how the improvements on Nojiko's new house were coming along, starting a non-annoying-male-oriented conversation that managed to keep us occupied for all of about ten minutes.

As Nami finished explaining their plans to make Nojiko's study into a second bedroom for Nami herself, a sudden flash of silver caught my eye and I glanced down toward her slender wrist.

"Not that I wasn't listening," I started. "But that's a nice bracelet. Pretty unique, too." And it certainly was, made up of two thin chains held together by what looked like a row of delicately carved windmills, all lined up between the tiny links to form an almost solid yet thin line of silver. "Where on earth did you manage to find it?" I didn't think I had ever seen it before, and I'm sure I would have remembered such a design.

"Oh, this?" Nami raised her arm to look at the bracelet. "Zoro got it for me. For my birthday this year. Pretty nice, isn't it?"

I stared at her for a bewildering moment, pretty sure the world, as Sanji had put it earlier, was coming to an end. "Zoro?" I repeated. "_Our _Zoro?"

Nami snorted lightly in amusement. "How many other 'Zoro's do you know?" she grinned. "Yeah, brought it over himself and everything." She ran a finger along the line of windmills before setting her arm back on the bar top and chuckling at my confounded expression. "Well, you know he works part time in that pawn shop, right?" she asked.

"Ah," I nodded as I began to at least understand the oddly unique design of the bracelet. Honestly, it just wasn't something one would see in a random clothing or accessory store, and looked like it might be pretty old, too. "I see. How does he know about your thing with windmills, though?"

"You're guess is as good as mine," Nami shrugged. "However, I think he probably pays attention to details more than we give him credit for."

It was just too improbable. "Maybe Tashigi picked it out?" I speculated.

Nami shook her head. "I asked her, but she didn't seem to know anything about it. She wasn't lying, either. I could tell."

"What about Robin?"

"Oh, come on Syla," Nami shook her head at me again, but she was smiling. "Is it so hard for you to imagine Zoro doing something nice for someone else?"

"Not really," I admitted, thinking about the memory of Zoro on the lawn. "Not when it counts, anyway."

Nami gave me a calculating look before turning away and sighing heavily. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but…he really isn't such a bad guy to have around, you know. He's trustworthy, and he's pretty loyal, too. Sure, he can be really obnoxious when he gets himself lost in the most ridiculous places or picks a fight with one of the other guys, but still, if you think about it, he's never let any of us down before. I don't think he even has it in him to do something like that." She cut a sideways glance toward me almost thoughtfully. "I'm not really telling you anything you don't already know, am I?"

I took a long drink before answering. "You'd be surprised."

* * *

><p>By the end of the night Nami and I had wandered out of our hiding place to mingle a bit more, I had finally given in to a dance with Sanji, and Luffy and Zoro came back inside about ten minutes before it was time for us to leave.<p>

I stood to the side with Robin while Nami and Ussop said their goodbyes to Brook and the tall man thanked us once again for participating in the after party. Zoro, with the help of Sanji, waved to the musician and began escorting Luffy to the front door to avoid an all-out food fight as they passed the buffet table. One meal related argument was enough for the evening, apparently.

Robin didn't say anything about mine or Zoro's disappearances earlier, but I could feel her sharp gaze on me as we left the Rumbar Villa and headed back toward Franky's van. Luckily my cousin still had plenty of spare energy and was able to keep up an ongoing stream of commentary about the evening all the way back to Robin's house. I say luckily because otherwise the odd, palpable tension in the van would have been even more awkward than it was already. Nami had completely abandoned her 'Luffy babysitting duty', sitting quietly in the front seat beside Robin, and Zoro and I hadn't said a word to each other since leaving the dance floor. Not that such behavior was out of the ordinary for the two of us.

Still, it was nearly unbearable and I had never been so glad to end a night with my friends as I loaded Luffy and Ussop into my car as quickly as I could, promising Robin I would call her when I had the chance to do so.

I was pulling up to my apartment after dropping the boys off at Dragon's house when my phone began to ring. Parking my car and digging the noisy object out of my handbag I glanced at the screen and smiled before raising the phone to my ear.

"Good timing," I said. "I just got in. What's up?"

"_Hey_," Ace's voice said cheerfully from the other end of the line. "_I know it's late and all, but I was wondering how the party went. Everyone still in one piece?_"

"In a manner of speaking, I suppose," I sighed, pulling my keys out to unlock my apartment.

There was a short pause, then, "_You alright, Syla? You sound a little off._"

I thought about asking him if he had any idea why Zoro had reacted the way he had to our conversation earlier. Why he had gotten so angry over something that seemed, to me, like it wouldn't be such a big deal. I decided a moment later that I wanted to think it over myself before dumping anything on my unsuspecting cousin or jumping to any conclusions. So I took a deep breath instead, walking inside and turning on the light in my living room. "Yeah, I'm fine," I nodded, knowing he couldn't see me anyway. "And no major disasters, so I'd call it a success."

"_That's relieving,_" Ace chuckled. "_Luffy didn't end up burning the place down or anything?_"

"He was pretty well-behaved, actually," I smiled. "Only one act of food theft, and the only reason he didn't get away with it was because Sanji didn't think the food was worth anything compared to his own." Which was what Sanji had listed as his excuse during the ride back to Robin's house.

"_Not too surprising,_" Ace said. "_And probably true, anyway._"

I agreed with a hum, stepping out of my heels and dropping my bag on the couch. "Hey, Ace," I started as something came to mind. "Do you remember where Luffy put Makino's favorite bandana? He borrowed it a couple of weeks ago, when you were here in Grand Line, and I haven't been able to find it anywhere."

"_Check the closet in my room,_" Ace answered. "_It's probably still in there. You going to go visit them?_"

"Yeah, tomorrow," I said. "Shanks invited us over for lunch. Your dad can't make it though, he has some kind of meeting, so I'm taking Luffy with me. Otherwise he'll get distracted and end up being late again."

"_Also very true,_" Ace snickered. He yawned into the mouthpiece. "_Well, I'd better get to bed soon. I have a full day tomorrow, too._"

"Oh yeah?" I asked as casually as I could. "What's his name?"

Ace sounded like he was choking. "_What?_" he gurgled. "_How'd you arrive at _that_?_"

"Hmm," I smiled. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me yet."

"_Syla…_"

"Come on," I giggled. "I already had an idea that might be the case. You know, less phone calls, more running off during the times you _do_ call, and small gaps in your stories of where you are or what you're doing," I grinned triumphantly. "So, what's his name?"

"_You're getting way too good at that,_"Ace sighed. "_Alright, let's get this over with: His name is Marco and he's an intern with me under Mr. Newgate. Yes, he's cute and nice and smart, and no, I'm not sending you a picture. Happy?_"

"Probably not as happy as you are," I shrugged.

"_Hey!_"

"Alright, alright." I relented, still smiling. "Go get your beauty sleep, then. I'll talk to you later, Ace."

"_Later, Syla._"


	9. Chapter 9

Wow, that didn't take _forever_ or anything! I'm sorry for my lack of inspiration lately. I'm hoping it will come back soon, preferably with a nice apology note for making everyone wait so long...

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

Warnings: Not very many, actually.

Enjoy!

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><p>I stopped by Dragon's place at around noon to escort Luffy to his old mentor's new house, passing my uncle on my way to the back door.<p>

"Thanks, Syla," Dragon nodded. "I appreciate you taking Luffy today. I'd go myself, but I can't pass on this meeting."

"It's alright," I assured him with a smile. "I don't mind at all. Besides, it'll be nice to see Shanks and Makino, and their new house."

Dragon gave a short chuckle of agreement. "Oh, almost forgot." He reached into his jacket pocket and removed a folded bit of checkered cloth. "Ace called me this morning, said you were looking for it."

"Yeah, thanks," I accepted Makino's bandana and slid it into my own pocket as Dragon turned away with another nod and headed for his car. "See you later."

My uncle waved behind him before climbing into his old sedan and I walked through the gate and into the backyard, keeping my mind on the task at hand.

Luffy was so excited about seeing the pair again that I was eventually forced to put him in a headlock and drag him out to my car, as he seemed to be far too distracted by…well, _everything_, to bring himself along, instead.

After the ten minute struggle I eventually managed to shove him into the passenger seat and close the door before he could crawl out again. I knew that once he was actually inside the vehicle, his focus would shift immediately toward the journey, and not on what he should be bringing to eat, wear, play with, etc. Luffy had always been this way, so it was more of a routine for me than any exercise of patience.

My cousin was grinning from ear to ear as I shifted into drive and we started out toward the Water 7 district. After a few minutes of listening to Luffy drumming happily on the dashboard and chattering non-stop about what Makino could be making for lunch, I allowed my thoughts to wander back to the After Party the evening before.

I hadn't slept well the previous night, my brain too full of the several turns in events that had shifted through our little group over the last few weeks. First there was Tashigi's announcement that she would be leaving the city with Pell at the end of the month. This bit of news had startled most of us, especially Zoro; we hadn't expected her departure to be so soon. She had assured all of us that she would be fine, that Pell would look after her and not to worry.

I grimaced however as I recalled a particular heated argument that I had unwittingly walked in on between Tashigi and her cousin Smoker the week before. Apparently she had waited to tell him last, knowing she would be met with a wall of bull-headed resistance. She wasn't far off, either. It hadn't been pretty.

Second was Nami's realization that she was falling for my idiot cousin. Funny enough, I hadn't been quite as surprised by this as I had by Tashigi's plans to move from Grand Line City. Although the reason as to _why_ the pampered, temperamental redhead would want _Luffy_ would probably forever remain a complete mystery, even to her.

I shot a sideways glance at Luffy as he began gesturing wildly with his hands, illustrating the size of some feast he had been gifted with at the end of a dojo tournament a few years back. The poor guy was completely clueless.

I moved my gaze back to the road as my brow furrowed in deeper thought. The third thing was, for me, the most disturbing of these events: Zoro. Enough said.

I suppose I could have added in Ace's new love interest but I was honestly more than a little happy to hear that he had found someone who held so much of his attention. I smiled as I remembered the tone in his voice when he had talked about this Marco character; he had sounded like he was trying to be exasperated with my questioning but couldn't quite hide how pleased he really was.

I found myself wishing things would be that simple for me again, too.

"-And that wasn't even the biggest thing I've ever eaten, right Syla?"

I snapped back to the present as Luffy turned in his seat to look at me expectantly. "Eh?"

"Hey," Luffy frowned. "Were you even listening?"

I sighed and gave my head a slight shake to clear it. "Sorry Luffy," I apologized. "I was just thinking."

"About last night?" he asked. "It's fine. He doesn't really mean it."

My head whipped around to stare at him before I forced myself to focus on the road again. "Who?"

"Zoro," Luffy answered, as if I were a little slow in the understanding department. Like he was ever one to talk. "What he said to you last night. He told me, but I know he doesn't really mean it. He's not actually angry or anything." He snickered to himself and sat back in his seat. "Zoro thinks he can fool me, but he can't. The light's still there."

"Huh?" I wondered if this was one of those times that made my cousin either look like a genius or a complete nutcase, depending on the situation. "What light?"

"Ah, look!" Luffy sat upright again and pressed his face against the passenger-side window, pointing ahead of us excitedly. "We're here!"

I followed his gaze and saw the wide-spaced rows of multi-colored houses lining a winding street that threaded through the old Water 7 district. We were closer than I had thought. But I really wanted to know what my cousin had meant by a 'light', what that could possibly have to do with Zoro, and knew I was running out of time to find out.

"Luffy," I started, turning down the street.

"The third one!" Luffy trilled happily, cutting through my half-finished question. "I see Shanks! Come on!"

I sighed again and pulled to the curb next to where Shanks was waving at us from the lawn, grin firmly in place. It was a lost cause for today.

Luffy jumped out as soon as the car had stopped and was immediately tackled to the grass by the older man. I got out a little more slowly and forced my thoughts of the moronic moss head and his demonic behavior to the back of my mind, determined to not let it bother me for the duration of this visit.

* * *

><p>It had been a good effort, to begin with.<p>

Makino and Shanks had put together some kind of steak and fish stew, which looked a little suspicious at first glance but turned out to be really good. And surprisingly filling. Even Luffy's ever-present appetite was curbed for several hours after only a few large bowls of it.

After lunch we took a small tour of the couple's new house and I returned the bandana to it's rightful owner's care. Then the guys went into the back yard to catch up (or more likely just goof around) and I joined Makino in the kitchen to help her clean the dishes. With the boys safely out of ear shot the older woman wasted no time in launching straight into the dreaded 'girl talk'.

"So," she started as the sink began to fill with hot water. "Any lucky guys recently?"

"Yeah," I shrugged as I scrapped a few bits of food off the remaining plates and into the garbage disposal. "But not mine."

"Why not?" Makino asked, sounding genuinely curious. "A good-looking girl like you? I'd have thought they would be lining up by now."

"I probably scare them away," I smiled, repeating something Nami had said to me awhile back.

"Ah," Makino looked enlightened. "So you just need a guy with a strong backbone." She placed a few more bowls into the dishwasher before straightening again and tapping her chin thoughtfully. "What about that Roronoa guy? He's pretty strong, isn't he? Handsome too, if I recall."

I feigned disinterest with a slight shrug. "Can't say I've noticed," I lied. Unfortunately I had forgotten that this woman had known me since I was a child, and was not easily tricked.

"Oh?" she said, watching as I scrubbed at a sauce pan with more force than was probably necessary. "So in all this time, you've never really looked at him?"

"Not really," I answered without looking up. "Why would I?" I could hear the stubbornness in my own voice but chose to ignore it.

Makino snorted next to me. "Oh, come on," she grinned. "Just give it up. He's a sexy beast and you know it."

"Gah!" My hand slipped on the pan and it fell into the water with a small splash and a flurry of soap bubbles. "Makino! Don't just _say_ stuff like that!"

Makino chuckled and reached over my arm to retrieve the pan from that sink, rinsing it in the next one before drying it with a dish towel. "Why not?" she asked, clearly amused. "It's true, isn't it?"

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response," I muttered as I reached for the next pan. Makino continued to giggle and after another moment I looked over at her. "You know," I observed in an innocent tone, "You're getting kind of weird in your old age."

I ducked and grinned as Makino threw the dish towel at my head.

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><p>Just over a week after the lunch with Makino and Shanks, I finished closing the store after sending Tashigi home early, flicking the switches and locking the back door with finality. I then bypassed my car to walk around the building toward the street of shops settled on either side of it, instead. My work was finished but the day wasn't quite over just yet.<p>

I stopped at the front of the store and looked one direction, then the other, before shrugging and starting down the sidewalk in search of a random destination, feeling extremely annoyed with myself. The problem was this: Tashigi was leaving at the end of the week and I still hadn't bought anything for her as a parting gift. There were now only two days left until she would be gone.

Cursing my natural procrastination I walked into the first gift shop I saw and began browsing through the shelves, searching for something suitable. After several minutes of dismissing everything I picked up I sighed and turned to the last aisle for one more look before leaving.

A loud and familiar voice coming from the front of the store immediately caught my attention and I ducked on reflex before turning and standing on tip-toe to scan cautiously over the shelves. It didn't take long to spot the source.

I could see the large head of cropped gray hair from across the store and completely forgot about Tashigi's gift as I tried for a quick escape, skirting around the aisles toward the door.

Too late.

"Syla," the stern, booming voice froze me in place just as I was reaching out for the handle, feet away from freedom.

Sighing in resignation I clenched my teeth and somehow managed to force a smile before turning to meet the towering man standing behind me. "Hi Grandpa."

"When are you going to move back home?"

Well, he certainly got straight to the point, didn't he? I grimaced and stepped away from the door as a couple walked past me, shooting a jealous glance at them as it closed again with a soft click. "I'm not going to move back home, Grandpa," I said as patiently as I could. "There's no need for it. I'm fine."

"You'd be a lot safer at Dragon's place," Grandpa Garp continued as if I hadn't spoken. "I don't like you living alone." He stared me down with a steely gaze that didn't have nearly as much an affect on me as it used to.

Being the Chief of Police in Grand Line City, Grandpa Garp was absolutely adamant about both Luffy and Ace joining the squad. I had heard he had also tried to get Dragon on board years ago, as much good as it had done him. Dragon was even more stubborn than his sons, and that was on a good day. My grandpa was just as resolute about me not living on my own. After what had happened to Ryu I couldn't say I blamed him, but I still didn't agree with his badgering. I was more than capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much.

"I'm _fine_, Grandpa," I stressed, glancing over my shoulder for another chance to escape. "I'm at Dragon's house almost every day, anyway. It's kind of like living there." When was he just going to drop the subject?

"That isn't good enough," Grandpa Garp frowned at me through his white goatee and folded his huge arms. "The statistics on break-ins are a lot higher for apartments with only one resident than some other places, you know."

"I know," I sighed again. I had only heard this lecture about five hundred times now, how could I _not_ know? "But like I said before, I'm fine." I looked over my shoulder again, through the large window behind me, and spotted a very familiar head of green hair disappearing into a record store across the street.

Bingo. The perfect ticket to freedom. "Hey Grandpa," I said quickly, before the old man had a chance to start bombarding me again. "I have to go. Just found a friend of mine, kind of important, so-"

"More important than your safety?" he scowled. "Syla, reconsider-"

"I'll think about it," I cut in, already reaching toward the door. "Really, I will. Talk to you later, Grandpa. Bye." Yanking quickly on the handle, I gave a short wave over my shoulder and darted out the door toward the crosswalk before he could protest again.

_Nicely done, moss head, _I thought with a grin. _I might actually like you after all_.


	10. Chapter 10

So here is another chapter in the same day. Consider it the apology note for being so fsldfklsnein slow with posting anything lately. Hope it's still decent.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

Warnings: Mild Language (Zoro's fault...mostly)

Enjoy!

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><p>I was already inside the record store when I was suddenly hit with the full weight of my predicament: I hadn't actually talked to the demon since he had pulled me off the dance floor at the party, looking like a thunder cloud. I remembered what Luffy said about Zoro not being angry, but what if my nutcase of a cousin had been mistaken? This could get pretty awkward, and fast.<p>

I was so busy running through several of the less appealing scenarios in my head that I didn't even see the figure standing just on the other side of a tall record case, which was why I was more than a little startled when I bounced very suddenly off of a broad shoulder.

"Oomph!" I reeled back, momentarily losing my balance, and was only saved from hitting the display behind me by the strong hand that shot out to grip my wrist, pulling me onto both of my feet again.

"Syla?" Zoro asked, looking puzzled as he released my wrist. "Jeez, you okay?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Thanks." I didn't blame him for the odd look he gave me, as I was usually a fairly agile person. I had just been distracted in that moment and as a result was thrown off-balance. A second later I remembered why. "I- uhm-"

"Sorry," Zoro said quickly, cutting me off before I could embarrass myself even further.

"What?"

"About the party," he elaborated. "I've just…been tense, I guess, with Tashigi moving and all that. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

Something about the way Zoro turned his head as he talked told me that this wasn't quite the entire truth, but I didn't really want to press him any more, at the moment. "It's nothing," I shrugged. "We all have bad days."

"Okay," Zoro sighed in what might have been relief and turned to walk slowly down the aisle we were currently standing in. Without thinking much about what I was actually doing, I followed beside him.

"So, what are you up to in here?" Zoro asked as we moved past a display of instrumental music.

"Looking for a gift," I admitted a little sheepishly. "For Tashigi. I'm kind of running out of time, so I figured I'd better do it now. What about you?"

"Gotta eat something," he shrugged with his hands in his pockets.

I arched an eyebrow at him. "This is a record store," I pointed out.

"Yeah," Zoro agreed.

"I don't think the owners would appreciate you munching on their merchandise," I concluded. We had stopped beside a row of old country music records and Zoro averted his gaze.

"I was pretty sure the diner used to be here," he mumbled, frowning again.

I was about to tell him he was more than two blocks away from his intended target, but paused as I was hit with a sudden inspiration. "Well," I started. "There's no food here, but if you help me find a gift for Tashigi, I'll take you to the diner." It seemed like a reasonable exchange, after all.

It was Zoro's turn to arch a brow. "You want _my_ help?" he asked, a little doubtfully.

"Uhm," I had a brief second thought before settling on an answer. "Yeah. You've known her longer, and besides, you can't be too bad at choosing gifts." I was remembering the bracelet Nami had been wearing at Brook's After Party. Zoro still didn't look very convinced though, so I pitched the bargain a little higher. "I'll buy dinner," I offered.

Zoro sighed and ran a long-fingered hand through his hair, making it stand up in curious green spikes. "You don't have to do that," he said. "I'll help you out." He paused suddenly, raising his head as if only just realizing where he was. "Actually, this is a pretty good place to start."

I stood and watched as he scanned the store for a moment before something seemed to catch his eye and he headed toward the back. Fighting down the urge to question him, I simply followed again.

Zoro stopped again in front of the long display covering the back wall. "Tashigi's actually pretty easy to shop for," he explained, his hand moving along in front of the cardboard-covered records of every genre and decade before finally settling on one and lifting it free of the shelf. "If you know how crazy she really is." He turned the record toward me. "See?"

I looked over his arm to read the cover. "You're kidding?" I asked, surprised.

"Nope," Zoro chuckled at my expression. "No accounting for taste, I guess. But I know she'll like it. Here." He held it out to me and I took it with a dubious air.

"If you say so," I shrugged. We walked to the front so I could pay for the record and I tapped Zoro on the arm as I started for the door, making sure he was at least walking in the right direction as we left the store.

"So, where'd they move the diner to, then?" Zoro asked as we started down the sidewalk, Tashigi's gift tucked safely under my arm.

I bit back a smirk and had to try very hard not to tell him that _no one _had moved that diner in the last thirty years. Instead I looked away to hide my tense mouth and answered, "Just down the street, not more than two blocks."

"So I was close," Zoro realized, seeming a little impressed with himself.

I couldn't help the small snort of sheer amusement, although I really _did_ try to hold it back. "You know what?" I giggled as Zoro frowned at me. "I'm about sick of that diner anyway. Tashigi always gets our lunches from there, so it's gotten pretty old by now." I stopped on the sidewalk and motioned for Zoro to halt as well. "How about The Baratie? That's not too far from here."

"The Baratie?" Zoro repeated. "Isn't that where the pervert cook works?" His brow drew down further, as if remembering something extremely unpleasant.

"_Sanji _does indeed work there," I purposely stressed the cook's name, "and the food is great. Better than a diner, anyway." I watched him kick at the sidewalk for a moment before prodding, "Yes?"

"Sure," Zoro finally agreed. "I'm just not convinced that the curly shit cook isn't gonna try to poison me, or something."

"He won't," I assured him. "Sanji wouldn't ever mess with food. More than likely he would probably just try to kick your head in, instead." I ignored Zoro's deadpanned expression at my explanation and turned around to head back the way we had come. "Let's go back to my car, then." The Baratie might not be very far, but it would still be faster to just drive there than to walk. And in all honesty I wanted to get my part of the bargain over with before whatever had turned Zoro into a decent human being left him again.

Zoro followed without saying much and climbed into the passenger side of my car when I unlocked the door. He clicked the seatbelt and turned to face me when I started the car and pulled out of the back parking lot. "So," he said, a little hesitantly. "Why are you having dinner with me, again?"

I hadn't expected that. "Because I promised I would," I told him. Had he forgotten already?

"No," Zoro said slowly. "You said you'd show me where the diner is, then suggested the Baratie, where we are now _both_ headed." He gave me an assessing glance, clearly a little suspicious.

I was hit by a sudden stab of guilt. He was treating me like I might bite his head off any second, and I suddenly didn't think it had been _me_ avoiding _him_ all this time, as much as _he_ had been avoiding _me_.

I huffed silently with my eyes in front of me, searching for a reasonable excuse, and remembered a truthful one not a second later. "Because," I started, turning north toward the higher class end of the downtown area. "I have to eat too, and my fridge seems to have been raided some time recently. I don't think you'll need three guesses to figure out who is responsible for that."

Zoro snorted, seemingly satisfied with my answer. "You shouldn't have told him where you live," he grinned.

"If only it were that easy," I nodded.

"Can't say I envy you there," Zoro leaned back in the seat. "Luffy never even tries to get into my fridge, mostly because there's never anything in it."

"What?" I smirked. "Is eating a base necessity practiced only by us mere mortals?" I knew that wasn't true. I had seen him take down almost as much food as Luffy could in one sitting.

Zoro chuckled low in his throat at my question, closing his eyes. "Nah. I just usually eat at the dojo, is all."

"The dojo has a restaurant?" I asked skeptically.

"Koshiro," Zoro explained. "He's a pretty decent cook. We bring him stuff, and he cooks it. Sometimes we take the left-overs home, too." His eye were still closed as he leaned against the head rest, and I felt my own eyes narrow.

"Hey now," I warned. "Don't fall asleep. Remember who I grew up around; I might not look like much but I have a mean right hook."

Zoro's eyes slid open again and he rolled his head over to look at me. "Fine," he sighed. "Are we there yet?"

I was more than a little startled at the teasing light in his green eyes and moved my gaze to the road again to hide my reaction. "Yes," I answered with false exasperation, regaining control once again. "We're here."

Zoro sat up straighter as I pulled into the parking lot of The Baratie and quickly located a vacant spot. There were quite a few of them, actually.

"This place doesn't look very lively," Zoro noted as he opened the door and got out, stretching his arms above his head.

"It's Thursday," I reminded him. "It probably doesn't get really busy here until the weekend starts."

Zoro hummed in acknowledgement and we made our way inside, following the hostess to a table not too far from the kitchen door. I noticed Zoro eyeing it with another disgruntled frown as we sat down across from each other.

"It'll be fine," I told him as the hostess set glasses of ice water in front of us. "He'll be too busy to notice you anyway." _I hope._

I doubted Sanji and Zoro actually hated each other, it was more like some kind of bizarre masculine rivalry, the kind of which I myself would never fully understand, and any sign of weakness in one would be immediately exploited by the other. In this case _I_ was that weakness, as Zoro was never seen alone with any woman who wasn't Tashigi or Robin. Maybe it hadn't been such a great idea to bring him here.

Zoro seemed to be thinking along the same line. "You didn't set something up on purpose, did you?" he asked, eyes narrowed.

"Of course not," I frowned back at him. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not about to get involved in whatever pissing contest you and Sanji can't seem to let go of, it's not really my thing."

"Pissing contest?" Zoro repeated, frowning further. "That isn't what it's about. I don't like the guy 'cause he's a shit cook who hits on anything wearing a bra-"

"Whereas you aren't even aware that women are a different gender," I finished sharply. "What does it matter if you don't agree?"

Zoro glared without much force, then sat back in his chair. "I am aware of women, and what they are," he said, picking up his water glass and taking a drink. "I just don't usually care."

"Why not?"

"Because they're annoying," Zoro answered.

"How so?" I asked, frowning in return.

"Because-" Zoro gestured at me in irritation. "This! This need to know every little thing that goes on with me, whether it concerns them or not."

"If you hadn't noticed," I said crisply. "I _haven't_ actually cared what the hell goes on in that bizarre green head of yours until recently."

Zoro set his glass back on the table and gave me a considering look. "I did notice," he said seriously. "Why the change of heart?"

"I told you before," I ground out. "I didn't remember until a few weeks ago. I didn't know you even had-" I cut myself off.

"You didn't know _I _had a heart?" Zoro guessed with an edge in his tone. "I do. I just don't flaunt it as easily as some other people you know. That's all." He gave me another once-over. "And if you had remembered?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"I…don't know," I shrugged in frustration. "What does it matter now?"

"It matters," he stated frankly. "Why do you hate me?"

"I don't," I countered automatically. "But I don't understand you, either."

"Not my fault," Zoro pointed out. "You haven't even tried."

I opened my mouth to argue, closed it again and sat back in my chair. He was right and I knew it, but why was it so unsettling?

"Am I wrong?" Zoro asked.

"No," I answered almost unwillingly. I waited for him to do some kind of victory dance or something similar, but it never came.

"Good," he said in a tone that signaled the end of that topic. "Now that we have that out of the way, what do you want to eat?"

I looked down at the table and finally noticed that we hadn't even received our menus yet. That was a bit odd, as usually The Baratie was known for it's excellent service.

"Well, this is progress," a familiar and cheeky voice said from a few feet away.

"Finally," another familiar voice answered the first. "I thought we were going to have to lock them in a closet together before long."

Zoro and I both turned to see Tashigi and Nami, each standing on either side of a girl whom I had to guess was our waitress, as she was holding a short stack of slim black binders. They each had a hand on the girl's arms to obstruct her path to our table. No wonder we hadn't had any service since sitting down.

"What are you two doing here?" I asked.

"How long have you been there?" Zoro demanded. I had to privately agree that his question was probably the more pressing one.

"We watched you guys come in," Tashigi explained as the two of them released the confused-looking waitress. "Our table is just over there."

"We've only been here a few minutes, ourselves," Nami added. "Why don't you just come sit with us?"

Zoro and I stayed planted in our chairs, no doubt thinking nearly the same thing; this was certainly suspicious.

"Why are you being so nice?" Zoro asked, ever the straight-forward kind of guy. Again, I had to agree.

"Because we're friends," Tashigi grinned a little too widely. "Why wouldn't we be?"

"Besides, we're here for Tashigi's last night at The Baratie for awhile," Nami walked toward us and put her hand on my arm, coaxing me out of my seat. "It would be nice for you guys to join us too, don't you think?"

_And here comes the guilt trip_, I thought as I allowed Nami to lead me over to their booth. I could see a similar expression on Zoro as Tashigi guided him in the same direction. We weren't going to be able to get out of this one.

We were shoved into the semi-circle shaped booth to sit next to each other, Nami and Tashigi guarding the exits, and the waitress followed us with two more menus.

"Perfect timing," Nami beamed. "We haven't ordered yet, either."

After placing our dinner orders and requesting a few drinks the table settled into 'dining mode' as we chatted amongst ourselves, waiting for our meals. Not too far into the wait I watched Nami lean forward on the table to regale Tashigi with all of the details of the dresses we had worn to Brook's party and took the opportunity to turn my head toward Zoro.

"Ten buck says they followed us," I whispered.

"Oh, yeah," Zoro agreed quietly. "Sneaky, aren't they?"

"Not as much as they would like to think," I grinned and Zoro chortled into his beer.

Still, I wasn't sure as to why the two had thought a stealth operation would be the best plan of action, as asking us both to join Tashigi for dinner would have worked just as well. Obviously they knew something I didn't, or thought they did anyway, and I was perfectly content to keep it that way.

We all stayed awhile longer after our dinner plates had been cleared, enjoying the quieter atmosphere, and Sanji even managed to make it out of the kitchen for a few minutes in order to bring a special drink for Tashigi, as a going away gift. Nami and I had politely refused his offer to bring us more drinks as well, since we would be driving, but Zoro asked for another beer and was met with a scowl and a curt nod.

He got it a few minute later, although it was from the waitress and not the _sous_ chef, and in another fifteen minutes we were all ready to go home. No one want to over-do it tonight, as forty-eight hours later would be the actual going away party, which also happened to be Halloween, and we were sure it wouldn't exactly be tame.

Zoro and I waved goodbye to Tashigi and Nami at the door and headed for my car once again. I dropped Zoro off at his apartment (apparently the crazy man had _walked_ all the way to the downtown area, as he still didn't have a vehicle yet, and I was floored that he had actually managed to find it), then headed to my own apartment.

I was beginning to miss Tashigi already, and she hadn't even left yet. Still, I had one more party with her to look forward to during the next couple of days.

It wasn't particularly late just yet but I was feeling unusually tired, and as a result ended up going to bed much earlier than I would have on a normal night. Snuggling into my quilt I sighed and closed my eyes and got comfortable. I was just starting to drift off when another thought, sharp and sudden yet somehow not unwanted, stole into my mind and I opened my eyes again.

There was, I realized with a peculiar kind of confusion, more than just _one_ thing to look forward to on Saturday.

I threw my pillow over my face with a sigh of both defeat and acceptance. I had lost already and I knew it, so the only thing I could do now was to continue moving forward. And who really knew, I told myself out of comfort and assurance, maybe _not _disliking the moss head wouldn't be so bad?


	11. Chapter 11

Woot! Another chapter! This story is actually starting to cooperate a little better now (about time) and hopefully I can get the plot ball rolling faster soon. That being said, thank you to everyone who has read and/or reviewed this story! I really appreciate it!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece (or any other show mentioned here).

Warnings: Mild Language.

Enjoy!

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><p>I gave myself one last glance-over in the full-length mirror on my bedroom door, scowling and grumbling to myself. This had to be the stupidest costume I had ever worn in my life, and I had my friend Nami to thank for that. Bossy, loveable wench that she was.<p>

It had been Nami's idea (which meant there was no room for argument) that our little group go to Tashigi's Going Away party as characters from one specific theme. Some of us had been more than a little hesitant at first but had (regretfully) agreed after awhile. Nami had written the names of the different characters on small cards and placed them into hats for us to draw, dividing them by gender and not allowing us to share with each other. She had wanted it to be a surprise.

I now straightened my hair, tied tightly into curling pigtails, and smoothed the front of my blue checkered apron which covered the front of my knee-length skirt.

The Wizard of Oz. Of all the themes Nami could have chosen from, she just had to pick the Wizard of Oz. And apparently I just _had_ to draw the Dorothy card. Wonderful.

"Dammit," I muttered, shooting a look of annoyance at my ridiculous costume. "I would rather have been the Witch." But there was really nothing to be done about it, so instead I grabbed the stupid red shoes and slipped them over my stupid white socks, buckling them securely in place. The I gathered my keys and phone into the pockets of the apron and made my way outside to my car.

Hoping for Tashigi's sake that this party didn't turn out quite as horrendously as the last get together we attended, I turned in the direction of the downtown district, headed for the huge empty garage Franky had let us use for the party and Robin, Nami and I had been decorating for the past week. It was a great venue, except for the bit about being squished between several other warehouses and having pretty much zero parking space around it.

I pulled my car to a curb three blocks away, the previously appointed parking area for the party-goers, and got out while locking the door. I could see Robin's car ahead of me, behind Ussop's Camry and Pell's Jeep. It wasn't surprising that most of the attendants would be here already, as I had ended the epic battle with my hair much later than I had intended and was now running behind schedule. I would have to hurry to the garage, then.

Walking quickly down the street I spotted an alley to my left, one that would cut through the block and save me the trouble of walking all the way around it. Apart from a few garbage cans it looked fairly empty, if a little dark, and I hesitated for only a moment before changing direction and heading toward the narrow space between the buildings.

I had already taken several steps through the alleyway before I noticed them. Two men, leaning against the wall next to one of the cans and snickering quietly to themselves as I approached. In the dim light it was difficult to make out any details at first, but I heard the derisive tone in the voice of the one who pushed away from the wall first.

"Hey, miss," he greeted. "You're lookin' pretty nice today. Ya lost or somethin'?"

"No," I answered shortly, my lip curling a little. "But I'm in a hurry." I continued to walk past them, cursing my own carelessness and hoping to make it to the other side of the alley, as it was the closest point of relative safety.

The second man moved quickly to block my path as the other stood on the opposite side of me. "A hurry?" he repeated. "A little rude to just brush us off right away, don't ya think?" He reached out with one hand and I took a hasty step backward. "You can stay awhile, can't ya?" he snickered.

"Don't touch me," I warned quietly. True, these two idiots were a lot bigger than myself, but I wasn't nearly as helpless as I appeared to be. Idiot #2 ignored the warning and reached out again, aiming for the collar of my shirt. I quickly stepped to the side and forward, dodging his grasp and using the momentum for a short, powerful jab to his stomach, just below his ribcage. I hadn't been lying to Zoro; growing up with all boys I had managed to develop a fairly decent punching arm.

I backpedaled again as Idiot #2 doubled over, the wind momentarily knocked out of him.

"The hell-" he gasped angrily.

"I told you not to touch me," I said coldly, my focus moving instead to Idiot #1 as he advanced with a scowl. I stepped back again and felt my shoulder bump into the alley wall, realizing with a cold clarity that I was now neatly trapped between them with no easy way out. My lip curling again I dropped into a defensive stance and readied myself for a fight. Instead I froze in place as a deadly, growling, familiar voice rumbled from somewhere to the left of me.

"Do you want me to take care of them?"

Zoro.

I didn't turn away, keeping the Idiots in sight and feeling a sudden rush of calm in knowing that I was no longer alone. Opening my mouth to reply I stopped again when I heard Luffy answer Zoro's angry question.

"No, I've got it. Hold onto this for me."

My moment of short-lived calm was almost immediately replaced by apprehension at the sound of my cousin's voice and I didn't have to turn to see his expression, but I did anyway. Luffy was standing next to Zoro, both of them already fully dressed in their costumes for the evening and still managing to look as intimidating as hell. And I definitely didn't like the look on Luffy's face, one that I had only witnessed a mere handful of times, but one that meant it never ended well for whoever had put it there.

"Luffy," I said quietly. "Go easy. Don't kill them, alright?"

Luffy didn't reply, removing his straw hat and handing it over to Zoro while never taking his eyes from the thugs in front of me.

I recognized the hat immediately, and really, how could I not? It was my cousin's most prized possession, a thing he cherished and kept safe almost as much as he guarded the rest of our little group. It had been given to him by Shanks when Luffy was just a kid, during a time when my cousin was struggling terribly with his lessons at the dojo. After that Luffy had always worn the precious item to every tournament and competition, removing it only to compete and, in pretty much every case, thoroughly trashing every opponent he faced. The odd habit had earned him the nickname 'Straw Hat Luffy', a somewhat amusing thing to the rest of us but a title which Luffy himself carried with an almost-somber pride.

I was a little surprised to see he had it with him now, until I belatedly realized he had dressed himself as the Scarecrow for the party. Ah. That would explain it, then. I looked away from Luffy to glance over at the thugs when I heard a low hiss and watched as they backed away from me a few steps.

"It's him," one of the Idiots murmured to the other, sounding truly afraid as Luffy approached them at a steady pace. "Straw Hat Luffy."

"And the other…" the second answered, still backing away from the two new arrivals. "Isn't that the kendo master? Zoro Roronoa?"

"Yeah," his companion replied shakily. They took a few more retreating steps, until, "Screw this! Let's go!" They both turned on their heels and fled the narrow alley, rounding the corner and disappearing from view.

Luffy snarled loudly and sprinted forward, hell bent on chasing the bastards down and beating them both to bloody, unrecognizable pulps.

"Luffy!" I called sharply, catching his attention and halting him in his tracks. "Let it go. I'm fine."

Luffy didn't try to go after them again but his hands curled into fists at his sides, so tightly it must have been nearly painful. He didn't turn to look at me as he spoke. "Don't go wandering down alleys by yourself, Syla," he commanded, voice shaking with anger and adrenaline. "We're not gonna lose you, too. Understand?"

I froze in shock for a moment. Luffy almost never had that kind of tone, and especially not recently. He was such a perpetually cheerful person, it was difficult sometimes to remember just how serious he could be about everyone remaining safe and unharmed. Unsurprising really, after what had happened to my brother.

I sighed quietly as Zoro approached me, still holding Luffy's hat. He didn't say anything, just gave me an assessing once-over, and handed the hat to me with a silent nod once he was satisfied that I really wasn't hurt. I took the hat with a small smile and walked over to where Luffy was standing motionless in the middle of the alley, shoulders still tense with rage and probably a bit of fear as well.

"Sorry," I apologized, gently setting the treasured hat on his head. "I didn't mean to make you worry." I hooked my arm around his and he finally turned to look at me.

"Just…be careful," he said quietly. "'Kay?"

"Okay," I agreed, knowing he would relax with the threat now removed from the area. "Let's get going," I looked over my shoulder at Zoro. "We're already late as it is, and I'd hate for Nami to work herself into a fit before the party even starts."

Luffy smiled at that and Zoro moved up to walk on my other side as we left the creepy alley, turning right down the street that would take us to Franky's huge garage. It wasn't the ideal way to begin the evening, but at least now I could make sure these two actually _made_ it to the party, instead of wandering off in the wrong direction (Zoro) or getting distracted by anything edible or shiny (Luffy).

As we approached the garage, which was blissfully well-lit on both the inside and outside and quite noisy, even from a distance, a sudden thought occurred to me.

"Hey, guys?" I started, waiting until I knew I had their attention before continuing. "Tashigi doesn't really need to know about the alley incident, does she?"

"Nope," Luffy answered.

"Not really," Zoro agreed.

I let out a relieved sigh and relaxed, my arm still hooked around Luffy's. "Alright, good," I nodded. The last thing I wanted was to worry Tashigi unnecessarily on the night of her Going Away party. Besides, it was already over-with and there was simply no point in bringing it up again.

"Hey, you finally made it!"

We looked toward the door of the garage to see Ussop standing just outside of it, waving to us. He was dressed in brown clothing with a thick mane of faux fur around his face and neck. The Cowardly Lion. His brother Tony was standing next to him, dressed in an adorable dog costume and looking more than a little sulky about it. Poor kid must have drawn the Toto card.

"Hey, guys!" Luffy called back happily. He then unhooked my right arm from his elbow and moved behind me, looping my left arm around Zoro's own elbow before taking off toward Ussop and Chopper, the three of them laughing and shouting as they disappeared inside the garage.

I knew the action was just Luffy's protective instincts coming into play, and those instincts were telling him that Zoro was a good second choice besides himself to oversee my safety. I knew it, but still…. How awkward.

I heard Zoro clear his throat before starting forward again, although he didn't attempt to disentangle himself. The moss head was most likely also aware of Luffy's intention, and didn't want to risk upsetting his friend by letting go of me before we were inside the building. Yes, I thought. That was probably it.

I turned toward Zoro and finally noticed what he was wearing, as it was now clearly visible by the flood light fastened to the outside wall of the garage. He was dressed in black clothing with heavy boots on his feet and a red sash around his waist over a long green robe.

"What card did you draw?" I asked curiously.

"The Wizard," Zoro shrugged. "I didn't actually have to draw the card, though. It was the only one left."

"Ah," I said. A moment later I caught myself thinking that he made a fairly decent-looking Wizard and turned away quickly as we reached the open door. What was the matter with me?

Zoro stopped me with a slight tug on my arm before I could make it through the doorway. "Wait, Syla."

I swiveled around to look up at him as he let go of my arm. "What?"

"You sure you're alright?" he asked seriously. "You had us worried back there, you know."

"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured him. "Just a couple of delinquents. Nothing I couldn't have handled."

Zoro snorted with a small grin. "I actually don't doubt that," he said. "But it's a good thing you didn't have to, anyway."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that, but was saved the trouble of doing so when Zoro stepped back and raised his arm, gesturing for me to walk through the door ahead of him. I did so, and we threw ourselves into the party that was approaching full-swing, forgetting about the incident in the alley completely.

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><p><strong>AN**: Yes, I know. No party yet. Bad RenKain. But I want to put more detail into that one, and with the way this chapter turned out I was afraid it would be too damn long if I included both of them. Sorry.

Let's get this party going soon, yeah?


	12. Chapter 12

GRRR! Zoro! Stop running away when I'm trying to write a story about you! Not, not, _not_ cooperating!

Anyway...yeah. Took a little longer than I thought it would (again). Sorry.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.

Warnings: Very Mild Language.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>As soon as the garage door had closed behind us, Luffy and Chopper were on top of Zoro, pulling and wheedling him further into the room while yammering nearly non-stop about the other costumes, decorations, drinks and snacks, etc. Zoro growled and grumbled as they tugged him along, but didn't pull back and allowed himself to be led away with one last glance at me over his shoulder before he disappeared into the small crowds. Well, <em>mostly <em>disappeared, anyway. That green head of his remained clearly visible even through the colorful group of other party-goers for a long time afterward.

There were actually a lot more people than I had expected, and the wide space was milling with bodies, all talking and laughing and trying to avoid stepping on each other's costumes. I recognized most of them, including Johnny, Yosuku and Vivi, although several of the guests were probably either friends of Pell or people who had attended the graduate school and/or dojo with Tashigi.

"You made it," Franky had appeared next to me, wearing what was probably several rolls of aluminum foil and a wide grin.

"The Tin Man?" I guessed.

"Yeah," Franky chuckled, placing one huge arm around my shoulders and guiding me toward one of the tables set against the far wall. "Robin had to lend a hand with this super get-up though, so she did actually know about it before tonight. But we're not gonna tell Nami about that, right?" he asked.

"My lips are sealed," I agreed with a grin.

"Good," Franky chuckled again and dropped his arm as we approached the table where Robin was already seated, watching the goings-on with a small smile.

Robin had apparently drawn the Wicked Witch card, clothed in a long, fitted black dress with a matching hat perched on her dark hair. She had (understandably) forgone the green skin paint but did have a delightfully horrible-looking prosthetic nose attached to her real one.

Oooh," I cat-called, eyeing the bumpy, plastic appendage. "Sexy."

Robin laughed and pulled out the chair next to her own, gesturing for me to take a seat as Franky sat himself on her other side. "I see you survived the guys," she commented.

My heart skipped as I registered what she had said. "What do you mean?" I asked quickly. She couldn't possibly know about _that_…not so soon, anyway.

Robin tilted her head to the side. "Luffy and Zoro," she elaborated. "You arrived with them, didn't you?" She gave me a puzzled look and I snapped out of my shocked state.

"Oh, those guys," I grinned. "Yeah. They're a handful, though."

Speak of the little devil, Luffy came flying past me the moment I had finished talking, chasing Chopper around a small group of people and shouting something that no doubt had to do with the sweet roll clutched in the younger guy's hand. I turned to watch with a frown as Luffy's hat bounced dangerously on his head.

"Whoa, Luffy!" I called. "Slow down, or you're going to lose your hat!"

"Ah?" Luffy slid to a halt and spun around, running back to me and setting the old straw hat on top of my own head before darting off again. "Come back, Chopper!" he howled, completely ignoring my protesting squawks. "That's mine!"

I felt my eye twitch in annoyance from under the straw brim. "That is _not_ what I was getting at!" I snapped. Again, Luffy didn't answer, already headed for the other side of the wide area. "Gah! That guy," I griped as I sat down next to Robin, although I left the hat where it was for the moment. "What a pain." Still, it was relieving to see that he was no longer angry about the alley incident. He always seemed to bounce back so quickly from situations like that, it was like he was made of rubber.

"By the way, who did you think I meant?" Robin asked curiously as Franky set a tall bottle of soda in front of me.

"Hm? Oh, no one," I shrugged, searching for a change of topic. "Tashigi's already here, right?"

"Yes," Robin answered, "On the other side of the room, with Pell. They came in just after Franky and I arrived." She was allowing the poorly disguised switch of subject, I could tell, although I doubted she would be letting me off the hook completely.

It wasn't that Robin was particularly nosy, but if she sensed any trouble with her friends, she didn't let it go very easily, either. She was also the kind to strike when someone least expected it. The woman was like a damn ninja half the time.

"I should go see her, then," I said, although before I could stand back up again we were approached by what looked like a walking bear rug with paper machet wings and a little red top hat. _What in the world? _I thought in confusion._ Is that… _"Sanji?" I ventured. At least, I thought it might be Sanji. It was rather difficult to tell under all that fur.

"Oh," Sanji stopped short on his way toward Franky, rubbing the back of his neck in an awkward fashion. "Ah, my apologies for appearing before you two beautiful ladies in such an unmanly fashion!" he sputtered. "I just- I was looking for Franky…"

Yeah, I thought in amazement, it was definitely Sanji. "Are you…" I started, "What _are_ you?"

"A Flying Monkey," Franky snickered in answer from the other side of Robin. He turned toward the blushing blonde. "Super pick, bro."

"Yeah, shut it, Tin Can," Sanji frowned, moving his attention to the mechanic. "Get over here for a second, I need your help with this shitty stereo thing."

"Fine, fine," Franky relented, lightly squeezing Robin's hand where it rested on the table before standing up. "Let's get this thing going, Curly Boy. It just isn't a party without music, is it?"

I could tell that Sanji had to try hard to ignore the nickname but managed it, barely. After the two men had left I looked over at Robin with a grin. "Should we go, too?" I asked.

"Yes, that sounds like a good plan," Robin agreed as she stood gracefully from her chair. I got to my feet beside her, taking her arm in a similar fashion that I had used with Zoro not five minutes before and starting off toward the other side of the garage.

After a few minutes of adjusting to the sudden crowd I now noticed that, although several of the tables were at least partially full, most of the guests had opted for standing around the wide area in groups, laughing and talking easily. I also noticed that most of the older people were holding what appeared to be small glass skulls filled with red liquid and had to assume that at least one buffet table was housing some kind of alcohol. Most likely it was the one currently being guarded by Franky's older brother, Iceberg.

Half-way to the other side of the garage we ran into Nami, where she had managed to corner Luffy beside a long table piled high with snacks and beverages. I grimaced almost automatically as we approached them; it probably wasn't the safest place for my cousin to be stationary for any length of time.

Nami was wearing a long, light pink gown with off-the-shoulder sleeves and a wide skirt, which was swishing around her ankles as she closed in on Luffy. Her hair fell in loose strands around her face, topped with a small gold tiara, and she was using the star tipped wand in her hand to poke Luffy in the chest as she scolded him for upsetting Tony by taking his sweet rolls.

The title of 'Good Witch' was looking slightly ironic at the moment.

"I was hungry," Luffy protested, although he didn't try to stop Nami from stabbing him in the chest with the pointy object.

"Honestly, Luffy," Nami rolled her eyes. "There is an entire _table _full of food right here."

"But it was the last sweet roll," Luffy pouted back stubbornly. "And he already had two of them before I got here."

"That doesn't excuse your food theft," Nami frowned. "You shouldn't be taking things that belong to other people and what is that thing in your hand?"

Luffy lifted his hand when Nami gestured at it and held out another round pastry for her inspection. "Cinnamon Roll," he explained. "I was gonna trade with him."

Nami lost some of her fire and stepped back with another wave of the plastic wand. "Fine," she said. "Just _tell_ him that first, next time."

"Okay!" Luffy agreed immediately. "But I have to go find Ussop first. We're gonna blow up some balloons!" He turned and spotted me where I still stood next to Robin, only a few feet away. "Here, Syla," he said, shoving the cinnamon roll into my hand and skirting around me to take off again. "Give this to Chopper for me, 'kay?"

I had enough time to think of how ominous 'blowing up balloons' sounded with my cousin involved, then to notice the soft pastry in my hand, before what he asked had hit home. "Yes, that's me," I sighed as Robin let go of my other arm with a grin. "Luffy D. Monkey's personal delivery service." I turned around to walk off in the opposite direction Luffy had taken. "I'll catch up with you guys in a little while."

"Take your time," Robin answered slyly.

"Uhm, sure?" I said, turning back in confusion before continuing on across the garage.

But Robin's cryptic farewell became quite clear not five seconds later, when I spotted my youngest friend sitting at a table in the corner next to Zoro.

Chopper was leaning back in his chair and gesturing as he talked to the moss head, who was balancing one of the skull mugs on his knee. It wasn't all that surprising to see the two together, as Zoro seemed to be Chopper's favorite person in the world most days, a sentiment I didn't quite understand, as Chopper was almost painfully timid a good deal of the time and Zoro was…well, _not_. I forced down the urge to do a quick face-palm maneuver and continued walking forward. Sometimes, I thought, Robin's eyesight was way too damn good for anyone _else's_ good.

Like I said before, sneaky ninja lady.

Chopper and Zoro both looked up as I approached and I immediately held out the roll for the kid to take. "Here," I said. "From Luffy."

Chopper, who had been frowning when I walked up to the table, broke into a wide grin and practically jumped from his chair to snatch the roll from my hand. "Thanks!" he giggled, then looked around. "Where is he?"

"Blowing up balloons with Ussop," I explained.

Zoro watched Chopper dart away before raising an eyebrow at me. "Blowing up balloons or _blowing up _balloons?" he asked warily.

"Exactly," I nodded.

"Jeez," Zoro sighed as he stood up as well. "Those guys need a designated babysitter. _Especially_ in a room full of other people."

"I think she's with Robin right now," I smirked. "But I'm sure she can put an end to any actual explosions." I pivoted on my heel as Zoro stepped up beside me. "By the way," I started, shooting a sideways glance at him. "I haven't seen Tashigi since I got here. Do you know where she is?"

Zoro had just opened his mouth to answer when cacophony of heavy music and drum beats blanketed the entire area from several large speakers that had been strategically placed around the garage.

"What?" I shouted back over the sudden music.

Again, Zoro's mouth was moving but I couldn't make heads or tails of the words.

"_What?_" I repeated.

Huffing visibly in irritation, he gently tugged my arm to pull me right beside him and leaned down toward my ear. "On the other side of the room!" he yelled, ducking under the brim of Luffy's straw hat to be heard better.

"Again?" I practically screeched. Was she _teleporting? _"Where?"

Zoro pulled away with a nod of his chin, gesturing across the room. Moving his grip from my arm to my hand, he then guided me through the center of the garage, which had gone from a mingling spot to a dance floor in just a few short seconds (if sporadic arm-flinging and heel-kicking could be called 'dancing'), and back to a table close to where I had sat with Robin just after arriving. By the time we reached the tables, Franky and Sanji had turned the music down to a more tolerable level but I still couldn't see Tashigi.

What the hell was she dressed as? A chameleon?

We approached a table of people, Robin and Nami among them, and Zoro let go of my hand to reach down and tap the shoulder of a girl with long silver hair. She turned to look at us and I gasped in surprise.

"_Tashigi?_"

"Hey Syla!" Tashigi greeted cheerfully (and loudly). "Where've you been?"

"Looking for you," I answered, my eyes still roving over her costume. Apparently she was dressed as an old hippie, which explained the silver hair and make-up covered latex creases around her eyes, which were currently free of her red-framed glasses. No wonder I didn't recognize her.

"I'm here!" she sang, leaning back in her chair, and I noticed the mostly empty skull sitting in front of her. "Hi Zoro!"

"Hi," Zoro responded dutifully, one hand on Tashigi's chair to prevent her from tipping back too far. "Got started a little early, did you?"

"We went to dinner," Tashigi nodded, gesturing between herself and Pell (also dressed as an old hippie). "They had the _greatest_ sake at that place, Zoro! You'd _love_ it!" She giggled and poor Pell looked like he was currently regretting the sake-ordering decision.

"Hey," Tashigi turned toward me again. "Why're you wearing Luffy's hat?"

"Oh," I pulled the straw hat from my head to hold it in my hand. "I almost forgot I still had it."

"I can take it to him," Zoro offered.

"Alright. Thanks." I handed it over and watched him walk away before returning my attention to the table, meeting the bright gazes of four pairs of eyes. "What?"

"Weird," Nami shook her head.

"Yes," Robin agreed.

Tashigi just giggled again. Pell didn't say anything.

"What's weird?" I asked, completely nonplussed.

"You," Nami was grinning now. "Getting along with Zoro. It's different."

"Getting along?" I repeated slowly. I hadn't really thought so, it was more of a mutual agreement to not _ignore_ each other, actually.

"And how did you two end up on that date?" Robin asked.

"What date?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

"When we found you guys at the Baratie," Nami clarified. She was still grinning.

"That wasn't a date," I said. "Just dinner."

"It looked like a date," Tashigi added, smiling wickedly.

"It wasn't."

"You sure?" Robin inquired, her mouth quirking at the corner.

"I'm sure," I answered stubbornly. "We were just…out…together-"

"On a date," Nami finished.

"It_ wasn't _a date!" I protested.

"Okay, okay," Tashigi laughed. "So why were you having dinner with Zoro, then?"

"Uh," I hesitated. "I can't tell you."

"Because it was a date," Nami grinned triumphantly. "Wasn't it?"

I was saved from having to continue the defense of my actions by the impeccable timing of Luffy, although Nami was probably going to kill him for it when the party was over.

I raised my head as I heard a sudden crash coming from the side of the garage with the stereo equipment and tables for the decorations, followed shortly by Zoro's angry shout and Luffy's startled laughter.

_Well, _I sighed to myself as Nami leapt from her seat and Tashigi turned so quickly she nearly over-balanced, _it had to happen sooner or later._

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><p>AN: Eheheh...yeah, I probably owe an apology to Sanji for that one *looks up*. Whoops. And first part of the Going Away Party is complete! Next: What kind of shenanigans has Luffy stirred up this time?

Stay tuned XD


	13. Chapter 13

Not quite as fast as I would have liked (Zoro's fault, again) and I had to split it up (also again) but I hope it's not too horrible anyway :)

Disclaimers: I don't own *pouts*

Warnings: Language, as usual

Enjoy!

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><p>"So, really," I said, frowning pointedly at Luffy, "This was all your fault."<p>

"Nope," Luffy shook his head with a wide smile. "It was Ussop's."

"It was yours," I argued back at him.

I was currently sitting on a chair beside the mess of decorations while Luffy squatted on the floor in front of me, still laughing. From what I had managed to get out of him between his cackling and Nami and Zoro's shouting, this is what had happened:

One of the balloons they had been filling with air had popped suddenly, startling Chopper and making him back up into Luffy. My cousin had reacted by spinning around and hitting Ussop (for some reason) and Ussop, thrown off balance, had back-pedaled into Zoro, who, in the middle of carefully re-ordering a stack of Halloween cards next to the balloon station, was pitched forward onto the table, scattering balloons and decorations in every direction and breaking the defenseless piece of furniture clean in half in the process.

I tugged on my apron with a sigh, thinking that as annoying as the whole fiasco had been, it could have turned out much worse. At least there had been only _one_ broken table this time.

At the moment Chopper was huddled in the far corner with Nami, Ussop was rubbing his sore shoulder and Zoro was attempting to help Franky fix the unfortunate table. Pell and Vivi (the latter having appeared out of nowhere at the sound of mass destruction) were picking up fallen cards and chasing balloons around the hard floor of the garage while Tashigi laughed at them from the sidelines. I was doing my best to keep Luffy from causing any further damage to the area, meaning I couldn't let him out of my sight for an instant-

"Syla!"

I turned in my chair to see Johnny and Yosuku standing behind me and grinning like idiots. "Hi, guys," I greeted. "What's up?"

"Dance with us!" Yosuku grinned as Johnny reached forward and yanked me from my chair. "You can't just sit here all night!"

"W-wait!" I protested, trying to turn my head enough to see Luffy. "I have to watch-" To my unsurprised exasperation, he was already gone. "Crap." I managed to get my feet under me before I face-planted on the floor and caught Zoro's curious glance from the corner of my eye as his roommate guided me from view.

I sighed and let Johnny pull me away from the corner and into the middle of moving bodies and flowing fabric. At some point a few minutes before and while I had been holding Luffy in a headlock (mostly for his own protection) Sanji had dimmed the lights in the garage and set up a turning stage light on the high shelf holding the stereo system. It was now throwing multi-colored lights and shadows over the moving mass of people and effectively disorienting anyone tossed into the energetic throng.

"Dance!" Yosuku repeated as Johnny let go of me and started wiggling around on the spot. "Come on!"

"And how exactly does someone dance to this?" I asked, catching Yosuku by the shoulders as another enthusiastic dance-party participant bumped into him from behind. My patience with them was probably due to the smell of alcohol on his breath and the way Johnny was laughing as if he had just heard the funniest joke ever told.

"Like this!" Johnny took my elbows and started moving the top half of my body back and forth in a dizzying motion. "See?"

"Uh…"

"Hold on," Yosuku cut in excitedly. "I've got an idea. We'll go get something for you to drink, it'll loosen you up and make it easier, 'kay?"

Before I could politely decline the offer he had turned and hit Johnny on the shoulder, both of them disappearing into the crowd and leaving me standing by myself. Really, what was the matter with those two?

"Not very friendly of them, was it?" a voice cooed beside me. "Leavin' ya here by yourself."

The little hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I turned to meet a broad-shouldered man wearing a costume hockey mask and old blue jumpsuit. "I'm fine," I assured him. _How the hell did _he_ get in here?_

"Ya sure?" the guy in the mask asked with a sickening chuckle. "I could keep ya company 'til they get back."

"No, that's alright," I backed away a step. "It's not necessary-"

"Then how 'bout a dance?" he moved forward. "Come on, Syla. What'll it hurt?" he chuckled again and I tensed. I really didn't feel like punching this guy in the face in the middle of a crowded dance floor, but that wouldn't stop me if he tried anything.

"No, really," I nearly growled. "I said I'm- Hey! What are you-! Oh, Zoro. Don't do that."

I had jumped clear off the ground at the feel of someone's arm snaking around my waist, but turning to the side and looking up I had just barely managed to not hit Zoro. The moss head had ignored my scolding, as his sharp green eyes were now trained on the man in the hockey mask, lip pulled back in warning.

"Back off, Bellamy," he rumbled slowly. "She's already told you no. Several times, in fact."

"Come on," Bellamy snickered. "I was just having a little fun." The black eyes blazing out from the holes in the mask moved down to my face. "But if she's already taken, what can I do?" he shrugged.

"Yeah," Zoro agreed, already pulling me backward. "Exactly." He turned around very suddenly, keeping me on my feet as I stumbled and dodging a few of the other people in the area, then held me against his side as we made our way back to the corner of the garage.

"Exactly what?" I asked as soon as we were free of the mob.

"Huh?" Zoro glanced down and released me, looking as though he had almost forgotten I was there, and moved away a step or two. "What do you mean? And how the hell do you manage to attract so much trouble, anyway?"

"Don't change the subject," I frowned. "Exactly what?"

Zoro turned away with a shrug. "There's nothing he can do." He moved to walk in front of me, clearing a path through the smaller groups of people and nodding every once in awhile to the ones he recognized.

I huffed silently and followed behind him. Sometimes, I thought with a frown, trying to get a straight answer out of Zoro was a lot like trying to stand in the corner of a circular room; completely impossible and only left me feeling annoyed and dizzy. "Whatever."

There were definitely more people in the big garage now and my own little group had taken refuge in the corner behind one of the speakers, crowded around a long picnic table and chattering animatedly with each other. Tashigi was leaning against Pell, Robin on her other side and Franky standing behind them, back to the wall. Chopper was seated next to Robin with Ussop across from him, the two brothers arguing amicably about what qualified as 'good music' compared to 'watered down noise'.

Luffy was sitting _on_ the table (surprise), a tall bottle of soda in one hand and the other on Nami's shoulder where she perched on the bench between his feet.

I smirked to myself at the sight of them. As clueless as Luffy was about Nami's real feelings, I knew he did care about her a great deal and enjoyed being around her as much as possible, despite all the times she scolded him, understandably, for acting like an idiot.

Chopper had spotted us approaching and reached over to shove Ussop closer to Nami to make room for Zoro, and Luffy patted the bench on his other side with a grin. I returned it, walking toward them behind Zoro, but before either of us could reach the table I heard the slapping sound of running footsteps behind me and the loud, familiar voice of Yosuku calling out drunkenly.

"Syla! You disappeared!"

I turned around just in time to have the energetic man crash into me and I was thrown off-balance (again). I flew back with a startled squeak, hitting the brick wall that was Zoro's chest and forcing the moss head to catch us both before we could tumble to the floor.

"Oomph!" I gasped as I was smashed between the two much bigger people. "Yosuku!"

"Sorry!" Yosuku laughed. He was holding one of the skull mugs high in the air, arm stretched out to keep the sloshing liquid away from us. His other arm was currently trapped between me and Zoro as he continued to maneuver himself into a standing position. Panting and practically glowing with barely-contained excitement, Yosuku managed to disentangle himself a short moment later and held the mug in front of me. "Here."

"Is she supposed to drink that or wear it?" Zoro drawled from behind me, his long-fingered hands still clamped around my shoulders. "Be more careful next time or you're gonna end up flattening somebody, you over-grown puppy."

"Sorry, bro," Yosuku laughed again, not looking very sorry at all. "I just forgot to slow down."

"Its alright," I assured him. "No harm done." I reached out and took the skull mug with a smile, raising it to my lips-

"Hey!"

Johnny barreled into Yosuku from the side, jostling my arm and spilling the red liquid down the front of my white apron. "Gah!" I sputtered and wiped the back of my hand across my mouth. Zoro quickly snatched the mug from my shaky grasp, probably so I wouldn't drop it, and rounded on Johnny angrily.

While the moss head was busy telling his roommate exactly why he should be sleeping with one eye open for awhile, I felt a tug a the back of the apron and looked over my shoulder to see Robin untying the half-soaked article. She slipped the loop over my head and walked around to my front to inspect my costume.

"Looks like your shirt is stained too," she commented. "Are you wearing anything else under it?"

"My tank top," I shrugged. "But I don't really want to wander around in just that."

"True," Robin nodded in agreement. Her bright gaze swept the area and landed on the irritated goblin a few feet away from us. "Zoro," she started in a mild tone. "May we borrow that robe for the time being?"

Without looking at us and still growling at Johnny, Zoro untied his red sash and slipped out of the green robe, wadding the material into a ball and tossing it toward me. It smacked me in the face and I pulled it down with a scowl.

"Cave man," I complained. Still, it did beat walking around in nothing but a skirt and skimpy tank top so I stuck my arms through the sleeves and held the robe closed while Robin tied the red sash firmly in place. It had looked normal on Zoro, but it was huge on me. I held up the front a little to avoid stepping on the hem and turned to Robin again.

"Green suits you," she remarked quietly, leaning in with a smirk.

I snorted in reply and looked to the side to see Nami standing up from the bench of the picnic table.

"Well," Nami started loudly, "as amusing as this comedy skit has been, I think we should probably go mingle a little more. Especially since we seem to be hogging the Guest of Honor, at the moment."

"Hey, Nami," Zoro stopped her with a hand on her arm when she tried to move past him. "Bellamy's here."

"What?" Nami scowled.

"When did he get here?" Luffy asked as he appeared on Nami's other side. He didn't seem to be too angry, but the thoughtful frown he was directing at Zoro made it clear that he didn't like this news at all.

"Bellamy's here?" Johnny piped up. "Why didn't you say anything earlier, bro?"

"_That's_ what I was yelling at you about, moron!" Zoro snapped. "He walked up to Syla right after you two ditched her on the dance floor."

"Hang on," Yosuku tilted his head. "I did see Hancock come in a little while ago. Maybe she brought him?"

"Yeah," Zoro nodded. "That seems likely." He looked toward Franky, who had been listening in from the other side of the table. "Should we do something about it?"

"Wait a minute," I interjected before Franky could answer, reaching out to tug on the sleeve of Zoro's black t-shirt. "He hasn't actually done anything, as far as I can tell. Maybe we shouldn't stir up trouble if we don't have to." I glanced pointedly at Tashigi, who had completely ignored the current conversation in favor of playing with the peace sign around Pell's neck, and Zoro followed my gaze with another frown.

"I guess," he agreed after a short pause. "Just keep an eye out, everyone."

"Sounds okay to me," Luffy shrugged. Robin nodded beside me, her mouth pulled down at the corners.

Nami didn't look very convinced but within a few seconds was too distracted to voice her opinion as Sanji stomped up to Zoro and demanded to know why, exactly, I was wearing his robe. To which Zoro replied, his hands twisted in the fur of Sanji's costume and nose-to-nose with the blond man, that it wasn't any of the cook's business. And Nami decided to once again prove the fact that an angry redhead could be ten times stronger than two trained fighters.

After Zoro had rubbed the pain away from the lump on his head and Sanji had caught his breath after apologizing to Nami for two minutes straight, we banded together and wandered back out into the midst of the party.

I walked along with them, one hand still holding the front of the long robe and the other being held by Chopper. The action had surprised me until I learned that the kid apparently thought the fact that I had been allowed to wear _Zoro's_ robe was the coolest thing he had ever seen in his life.

I had to silently disagree, if only because the moss head's natural scent was very obvious every time I moved and was effecting me more than I would have ever readily admitted. Not to mention the damn thing had nearly tripped me twice already and I was glad Chopper was so close, although the poor kid would most likely only be useful as a landing pad if I did fall, as small as he was.

And so, cursing Zoro and his stupid robe and trying not to knock Chopper over, I found myself looking up to meet a very interesting scene taking place a dozen feet or so in front of me, and not interesting in a particularly good way, either.

_Uh, oh._

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><p><strong>AN**: Aaaaannddd- another cliffy-type ending. Sorry. I really need to stop doing that.


	14. Chapter 14

Well, this took a little longer than I had expected. Zoro has been giving me the silent treatment since last week.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece

Warnings: Language and Mild Violence (kind of)

Enjoy!

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><p>"Sanji! <em>Stop!<em>"

I had let go of Chopper's hand and sprinted forward before I had time to fully register what I was doing. Luckily I wasn't the only one who had spotted what was quickly becoming a brawl.

"Wait, Sanji!"

Luffy and I were both approaching the two men at a rapid pace, the others having halted in their tracks to gape in surprise, but Zoro beat us to them. He wrapped his arms around Sanji from behind and forcefully pulled him away from Bellamy, taking several steps backward and holding the blond firmly in place while Sanji snarled angrily.

"Enough, cook!" Zoro snapped. "Knock it off!"

"Sanji!" Nami started in a shocked tone. "What are you _doing?_"

Bellamy turned away from Luffy, who had stepped in between them, to leer at Nami in a disgusting manner. "Hey, there you are, babe," he snickered. "You're lookin' good. Wanna have some fun?" With the hockey mask now gone, his black eyes moved very obviously to Nami's chest before flicking to her face again.

Nami made a gagging sound and stepped back to stand beside Franky while the big man kept a dark focus on the scuffle in front of us. Ussop was watching with an expression half-way between anger and apprehension from Nami's other side. I paused a few feet away from them, finally understanding what had made Sanji snap enough to attack Bellamy, and cursed silently as I realized that we had neglected to tell the cook about the bastard's presence in the garage.

Luffy had tensed noticeably at the offensive offer but to his credit didn't even take a swing at Bellamy. Sanji, on the other hand, snarled even louder and enhanced his struggle against Zoro's crushing hold. However, while the cook was a master at smashing things to pieces with his feet, he couldn't match the moss head in upper body strength alone.

Zoro pulled hard enough to yank Sanji's head back and hissed in his ear. "_Stop_, Sanji! He's just trying to rile you up."

My eyes snapped toward them, one brow arching in surprise. I couldn't remember the last time I had heard Zoro call Sanji by his name, and wasn't sure whether I should be worried by that or not.

"Get off me, asshole!" Sanji growled, trying to shake Zoro's grip. "I'm gonna flay him!"

"Sanji-" Luffy turned his head as he tried to placate his friend and Bellamy moved forward to take advantage of my cousin's distraction, one arm swinging back to throw a punch.

"Luffy-!" I shouted in warning, darting forward again.

Luffy spun back around and raised his own arm to block the attack but Pell had moved like lightning and was now standing behind Bellamy, both of his own pale arms locking Bellamy's limbs against the bastard's broad back.

"That's enough of that," Pell frowned. He didn't even seem strained as the much bigger Bellamy squirmed violently, trying to break the hold.

I remembered very suddenly that Pell was the head of security for the Nefertari Incorporation, and now I could understand why: despite his almost fey-like appearance, Pell turned out to be a rather capable and impressively strong man.

I then watched Zoro nod to Pell in thanks over Sanji's shoulder, although he didn't relinquish his grip on the cook just yet, and Pell return the gesture without hesitation. They both glanced toward Tashigi, who stood to the side with Robin's arm around her shoulders and her own hands over her mouth, before returning their focus to their respective charges.

An invisible weight I hadn't even noticed until that moment lifted from my chest as I witnessed the silent exchange. I was abruptly aware that I had neither seen nor heard much about any contact the two might have had in the last several weeks. Now, there seemed to be some kind of unspoken understanding between them, one that had much more to do with Tashigi than either the cook or the idiot still bouncing against Pell's iron grip.

The message was clear: Pell could and would protect Tashigi, and Zoro finally believed him.

I huffed silently with a mixture of relief and exasperation (mostly at Zoro). Men really are strange creatures.

However this still didn't solve the issue at hand, which was beginning to escalate as Bellamy managed to break one arm free before it was recaptured and Sanji started trying to stomp on Zoro's boots to make the green-haired demon release him. Robin had let go of Tashigi and moved forward in an attempt to sooth Sanji as Franky walked toward Pell and Bellamy, frowning deeply.

Not wanting to get in the way I took several steps backward to shield the round-eyed Chopper, the kid huddling instinctively beside my shoulder.

"_Bellamy!_"

We all turned to see the tall and, at the moment, very imposing figure of 'Boa' Hancock striding toward us, blue eyes flashing and her Egyptian-style robes swirling about her frame menacingly.

"Hey, it's Hancock," Luffy stated unnecessarily.

I heard Nami give a light snort from over my shoulder and felt the corner of my mouth twitch in amusement despite the current events. A moment later my attention was pulled back to the scene in front of us at the uncharacteristic reaction of Pell's captive.

Bellamy had instantly frozen at the sound of Hancock's voice, yet was now struggling with a renewed vigor, not trying to get away from Pell but (as absurd as it looked) trying to hide _behind_ the other man.

Well, that was certainly unexpected.

"Lemme go!" he shouted, sounding half-desperate, but Pell held on until Hancock was directly in front of them.

The dark haired woman had a height advantage to begin with, being even taller than Robin, and adding the four-inch heels she was currently sporting she now towered over both men as she glared down at Bellamy with undisguised anger.

"Impertinent brat!" Hancock seethed. "What do you think you're doing, bating Luffy's friends like this?"

"I didn't start a damn thing!" Bellamy spat up at her, although he was still making quite an effort to place Pell between himself and the infuriated woman. "That blond bastard attacked _me_ first!"

Hancock ignored his excuse, reaching out with one hand, and I felt my eyes widen in disbelief when she lifted Bellamy to the tips of his toes, holding him up by the front of his blue jumpsuit. "I warned you," she growled in his face, "that if you so much as _breathed_ an ounce of your usual bullshit I would throw you out of here myself!"

In a flash of mean spirit I considered telling Hancock that Bellamy had tried to punch Luffy, but decided it would be extremely unfair to Franky to have to deal with the mess afterward.

Without looking away from Bellamy (who's own eyes were rather wide), Hancock addressed both captors in a polite yet commanding tone. "You can let go, Mr. Falcon, Zoro. I'll be taking my delinquent nephew home now. I'm sorry for the trouble."

Pell released Bellamy as Hancock set him back on his feet, but Zoro visibly hesitated, waiting until he was sure Sanji wouldn't go on a rampage before loosening his hold enough for the cook to angrily shake him off.

There wasn't any chance of that, I thought. Sanji would never charge at Bellamy as long as Hancock stood between them.

"It's no problem," Luffy answered with a grin. "Will you be back?"

I had never seen anyone's mood transform so quickly as Hancock switched from intimidating martial arts master to blushing schoolgirl in record time. It was almost dizzying, and not just a little bit scary.

"Of course, Luffy!" she gushed. "If that's what you want!"

"Sure," Luffy (the oblivious idiot) shrugged.

With one last wave and a blown kiss toward my cousin (Nami nearly broke her wand in half) Hancock marched Bellamy to the garage door in a swirl of robes and long black hair. They were both gone in a matter of seconds.

"What was that about?"

I turned away from Chopper to see Johnny and Yosuku standing behind me, each holding two more skull mugs and frowning in confusion. "Bellamy-" I started to explain, but was cut off as Sanji exploded at Zoro on my other side.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me that rat bastard was here?" he shouted accusingly, grabbing the collar of Zoro's shirt and still itching for a fight.

Zoro impatiently batted his hand away with a scowl. "I was about to," he growled back. "But you cut me off by yelling about the robe. Pay attention next time, shit cook."

Sanji took a step closer to Zoro again but Robin stopped him with a gentle nudge on his arm.

"He's gone now," she pointed out reasonably. "It doesn't matter anymore." She looked toward Franky and Nami, stationed on either side of Tashigi and still frowning darkly. "I doubt he'll be back, either. Let's just forget about it for now."

I silently agreed with her, knowing it wouldn't do a lot of good to get worked up about the incident at this point, and made a quick, sweeping glance of the area. A few of the other guests had apparently noticed the scuffle, eyes darting toward our group once in awhile as they whispered to each other over the music, but most of the crowd seemed to have missed the entire thing completely. Hopefully it would be put out of mind as the party continued into the night.

While Robin and Nami continued to assure Sanji they were fine and Zoro left with Pell and Tashigi to sit at a table closer to the door, I turned away from where Luffy and Franky were ribbing the cook about his self-proclaimed chivalry as I felt Chopper tug on my sleeve.

"Who was that guy, anyway?" Chopper asked, still looking a little shaken.

"No one to worry about," I answered in a sour tone. "Just another moron who thinks the world revolves around his egomaniacal ass."

"Problem is," Johnny added, "the shit head is also pretty violent. Heard he used to train at the same dojo as Luffy and Zoro, but Hancock kicked him out when he started getting out of control, fighting when he shouldn't and tormenting the other students on a regular basis."

"He's also a chauvinist pig," Yosuku scowled. "Treats women like pieces of meat and has no respect for anyone else, either."

"I'm surprised Hancock brought him along in the first place," I nodded. "Even if he is her nephew. I'm even more surprised he tried to pick a fight with Sanji and not Zoro."

Johnny snorted and I looked at him questioningly.

"Bro would've pulverized that guy," he shrugged. "Probably better it _was_ the cook, at least Bellamy didn't have to leave in an ambulance."

"It wasn't really for lack of trying on Sanji's part," I sighed. "But never mind that now. He wont be back tonight, anyway."

"Good point," Johnny grinned, his cheerful mood replaced in an instant, and he held out one of the skull mugs in offering. "Sorry 'bout your costume, by the way. Here's to make up for it. Well, it's a start, at least."

I didn't want to tell him that I was actually grateful he had managed to ruin the hated costume, so I took the mug with a polite thanks and made a quick check on the others' distances before trying to take a drink from it. Having Luffy pop out of nowhere and spill the second mug would have been too much for one night.

After a few more minutes of calming our nerves the four of us rejoined Luffy's group before going our separate ways again in twos and threes, moving from the dance floor to the buffet tables and balloon station (now set up on a row of upturned crates) before retracing our steps once in awhile. Johnny had refilled our mugs while I sat with Nami, Sanji and Robin, serving them around our table before scampering off again to find Yosuku.

Vivi had also joined us for awhile, bringing with her a tall man with dark hair and a beaky nose who introduced himself as Chaka. Despite his size he was a soft-spoken individual, explaining in mellow tones that he worked with Pell at the Nefertari Incorporation and would be taking over as head of security the following week.

After the two of them had left I received an unexpected offer for a replacement at the store, coming from a perky girl of around twenty with shoulder-length green hair and a bright smile. She agreed to come to the store on Monday for an application and promptly disappeared into the crowd again.

The night was moving along at a more rapid pace now, and I wasn't sure if it was because of the celebratory atmosphere in the garage or because I had managed to lose count of how many mugs I had already consumed. I figured it was the latter when I caught myself staring at Zoro's back while Nami and I followed him to Tashigi and Pell's table, thinking that he really did have nice shoulders.

Wait, what?

I stopped short, forcing Nami to side-step quickly to avoid bumping into me, and glared down accusingly at the mug in my hand. Why the hell was I _gawking_ at _Zoro_? Stupid alcohol.

"What's the matter?" Nami tapped my shoulder with the wand she was still carrying around in one hand. She had been sticking close to my side ever since Hancock had rejoined the party, not really wanting to witness the older woman drooling all over Luffy every few minutes. I couldn't say I blamed her. It was a rather nauseating sight.

"Nothing," I shrugged the sudden thought away, chalking it up to the contents of my skull mug, and started forward with Nami beside me. She continued to shoot assessing glances at me until we had reached our intended destination and sat down with Tashigi, Pell and Zoro, where she soon lost interest in my behavior due to Tashigi's own increasing inebriation.

If the moss head noticed the way I avoided looking at him for the first several minutes, he didn't say anything.

An indistinguishable amount of time later, Pell took Tashigi to the dance floor (a dangerous endeavor, I thought) and Nami sauntered off to track down Sanji for company, most likely still avoiding Luffy and Hancock. This left me alone with Zoro which, given my current state, didn't bother me as much as I thought it should have.

"I wonder if anyone's managed to pry Hancock off of Luffy yet," I mused out loud, leaning back in my chair.

Zoro shrugged beside me, still holding the same mug he had been carrying an hour before, I was reasonably sure it was the same one anyway, and answered in a distant tone. "Not sure. I'm surprised Johnny hasn't come over here yet, though."

"Why would he?"

Zoro turned toward me with a 'you've got to be kidding' expression. "Come on, Syla," he drawled. "Think about it."

'Thinking' wasn't really on my list of top favorite things to do at the moment, but I did it anyway. "Ah!" I said a moment later. "Because he's your roommate?"

Zoro shook his head and tilted sideways (or maybe it was the entire garage that was tilting) before giving a short, unexpected chuckle. "You know, I've never understood how you can be so observant about the tiniest things sometimes and miss the big ones completely."

"I have no idea what you're even talking about," I waved one hand carelessly and moved forward to lean on the table. Apparently it was the only thing holding the floor right where it should be, so I decided to help it out a little.

"Are you alright?" Zoro asked, sounding concerned.

"Course I am," I shrugged. "You don't make any sense sometimes, you know that?"

"Sure," Zoro shook his head again, giving up on whatever he was trying to make me think about, and rested his arm across the back of my chair.

I thought briefly that there was something off about the gesture, something unfamiliar, but forgot about it completely when Johnny came bounding up to the table with another full mug, taking my empty one and asking if I would like to have any snacks from the table (I didn't) before disappearing again.

I looked over at Zoro again, who was frowning thoughtfully in the direction Johnny had walked off in, and giggled suddenly.

"What?" Zoro asked, looking surprised.

"You're so serious all the time," I told him with a mock frown, my eyebrows pulled down exaggeratedly. "Smile. Like this." I gave him a nice demonstration as an example and saw the corner of his mouth twitch a little.

"Just drink your drink," he said, turning away again to watch the bustle of costumed people swinging around on the dance floor.

I decided that was the best idea I had heard all evening and turned my attention back to the skull in front of me.

* * *

><p>The next morning was not nearly as enjoyable as the party had been, and I vowed to never drink so much again, especially since I still didn't know what had been in those drinks. From the screaming in my head upon meeting with the bright sunlight glaring unceremoniously across my face, I guessed it had probably been vodka.<p>

I had woken up in my own bed at an uncomfortable angle, my feet wrapped in my blanket and one arm trapped inside Zoro's robe where it twisted around my middle.

Huh?

I had enough time to wonder why I was still clothed in the moss head's costume while I struggled free from the aforementioned article and unwrapped my legs from the blanket. Strange.

Come to think of it, how did I even get home?

I sat up, groaning pathetically as the movement set off a minor explosion right behind my temple, and was just trying to crawl off the bed when the owner of the evil robe himself appeared in my doorway without warning.

"Need some help?" Zoro snickered, one arm on the frame and a glass of water in his other hand.

"Gah!" I slipped off the side of the mattress, landing on my knees and one hand and mentally kicking myself immediately for the sudden movement. "Where the hell did you come from?"

"Been here since last night," Zoro answered, walking forward to set the water on my nightstand before returning to the door. "Drove you home, but didn't want to walk back to my place so late. So I crashed on your couch."

I pressed my face to the side of the mattress, only hearing half of what he was saying, and tried not to think too hard about how much I did not want to move around just yet. "Tashigi?" I asked.

"Leaving in an hour, maybe just a little longer," Zoro responded. "I doubt she's in any better shape than you are, but at least she wont have to drive at all. Anyway, we should go soon."

I managed to pull myself back up onto the bed and immediately flopped over again. "Uhg."

"I'll take that as an affirmative, " Zoro snorted. "I'm gonna go outside." Then he left.

I waited until I had heard the back door slide closed before attempting to sit up again. After drinking most of the water and rummaging around for a fresh change of clothing, I made my way to the shower for a quick rinse before retrieving Zoro and walking out to my car to drive across town to Tashigi's place, trying not to bash my face against every hard surface I came across despite my current headache.

Just what the hell happened last night?


	15. Chapter 15

This was supposed to be done by Zoro's birthday, but apparently he is not a present-recieving kind of idiot. So, I gave him a good Muse-stick-whapping to the face instead, and we managed to finish this (short) chapter a little behind schedule.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece

Warnings: Very Slight Suggestive Humor

As always, enjoy!

* * *

><p>The drive to meet Tashigi was almost completely quiet, punctuated here and there with awkward, half-hearted small talk until I finally turned on the radio to avoid going crazy. It was painfully obvious that I still wasn't completely comfortable around Zoro and suspected the feeling might be mutual. I counted myself lucky that the drive was a short one.<p>

We pulled up in front of Smoker's house to see a moving truck already fully loaded and ready to go, parked on the curb next to the front walk. Luffy's old truck and Nami's small car were behind it.

Tashigi and Pell were standing on the lawn and talking with Nami, Luffy, Sanji, Ussop and Chopper, while Smoker himself watched from the porch. The silver haired man was frowning, hands shoved deep into his pockets and shoulders hunched as he watched the group with an unreadable expression. I felt a small pang of sympathy at the sight of him. No doubt he was taking this a lot harder than he would ever let on.

I parked behind Nami's car and Zoro and I climbed out to meet our friends, the thin brown bag holding Tashigi's gift tucked safely under my arm once again.

Tashigi pulled Chopper into a firm hug as we approached, patting him gently on the shoulder and whispering something into his ear. I slowed my pace a little as I realized the kid appeared to be on the verge of tears and Zoro fell into step beside me without any prodding, both of us waiting for Chopper to compose himself before we reached them.

I felt like I should have been at least somewhat surprised by the moss head's empathy, but I knew he had always been just a little softer around the edges when it came to Chopper.

Tashigi gave Chopper one last squeeze and let go, turning to see Zoro and I standing only a few feet away now. I shot her a quick grin and stepped aside to let the moss head lead Tashigi toward the moving truck, one of his arms over her shoulders and her own around his waist. The decision to give the two a few minutes alone seemed to be unanimous, as no one moved to follow them.

I looked up as Pell approached me from the other side, a small smile on his pale face.

"I suppose you've already heard the 'If you hurt her I'll hunt you down and blah blah blah' speech?" I guessed.

"A few times," Pell agreed with a chuckle.

"Good," I grinned. "Saves me the trouble." I glanced briefly toward where Tashigi was talking quietly with Zoro, before moving my gaze back to Pell. "Actually, I should probably thank you."

"It would be the first time for that one," he shrugged with another smile. "For what, exactly?"

"I think this will be good for her," I explained. "We'll all miss her, of course. But… she'll be happy. She's always wanted to go somewhere else, see other places."

"I just hope she'll be alright with the heat," Pell nodded, a little more serious now. "It can get pretty hot in Alubarna."

"She'll be fine," I waved one hand. "Tashigi's tougher than she looks. She can take it."

"Yes, I suppose she can." Pell was quiet for a moment. "What about him?" he asked.

I sighed as I considered the question. "He'll be alright, too," I answered after a short pause. "Besides, he still has us."

Pell raised one thin eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching in what looked suspiciously like amusement. "'Us'?" he repeated.

"Yeah, well…" I grumbled, trying to hide my own grin as Pell chuckled again. I had to wonder when I had started including myself in Roronoa's circle of friends, but realized I was doing it all the same. "I guess."

"She'll be glad to hear it," Pell nodded, then was gone across the lawn as Luffy waved him over with wild, energetic gestures.

I watched him talking with Nami and Luffy for another minute before feeling a slim arm fall around my shoulders and I turned once again to find Tashigi pulling me into a quick hug. She was looking more than a little tired, and I had a feeling it wasn't only because of the previous night's activities.

"Hey," I greeted, returning the hug with as much pressure as I dared. "How are you feeling?"

"About as good as you look," Tashigi answered teasingly.

"So great, then," I answered with a sly grin as she pulled away, laughing quietly. Removing the paper bag from under my arm I held it out to her. "Here."

Tashigi looked surprised for a moment before accepting the gift. "What is it?"

"I can't tell you," I wagged a finger at her. "You'll have to open it."

Tashigi slid the top half of the record from the bag, just enough to read the title, and grinned widely. "Nice!" she chirped, suddenly seeming more like her old self. "I love it! How'd you know?"

"A lucky guess," I shrugged. I glanced over her shoulder to see Zoro joining the others by the front walk before she reined my attention back in with her next words.

"Take care of him, okay?" she asked quietly.

I felt my eyebrows arch in surprise. "Who?"

"Zoro," Tashigi answered, pitching her voice even lower. "He'll probably need a little…prodding, even if he doesn't ask for it."

I frowned, venturing another look at the moss head in question. "He seems fine," I said. In fact, I hadn't actually witnessed Zoro acting like a crazy person since the night I had picked him up from the docks. Well, only if I didn't count the After Party incident.

"That's what worries me," Tashigi nodded with a small frown. She sighed, running a hand through her short dark hair. "Just promise me, alright?"

"Promise what?"

"Don't let him get too wrapped up in this," she shrugged, adjusting her glasses out of habit and not for any real need to fix them. It was a giveaway that she was troubled about something. "Just…don't let him withdraw from all of you."

"You think he will?" I asked.

"I think he'll try," Tashigi answered. "Don't let him. Promise me, Syla."

"He's closer to Luffy," I reasoned. The look on Tashigi's face was starting to unnerve me a little, not that I would have admitted it. "Maybe you should ask-"

"Please," Tashigi cut in, biting her lip. "He'll listen to you."

"Since when?"

"Since always," she responded immediately. She shook her head and sighed. "Look, I know you don't remember, but-"

"Tashigi."

We both turned to see the others now looking toward us expectantly. Pell stood in front of them, the strap of a small tote over one shoulder and another in his hand. It was him who had called to her.

"I'm sorry," Pell said gently, looking like he really meant it. "But we're running short on time. We have to go."

"Okay," Tashigi answered. She spun around suddenly and flung her arms around my neck. "Promise," she whispered.

"Alright," I whispered back, not entirely sure what I was getting myself into, only knowing that she needed some kind of answer from me. "I promise."

Tashigi pulled away with a smile, walking quickly across the lawn and directly into a group hug hosted by Luffy, Nami, Ussop, Sanji and Chopper, with Sanji trying to grab more of the girls than was really necessary and Nami nearly strangling him for it.

After Tashigi had finally convinced the youngest of them to let go of her (Chopper was still looking a little bright eyed), she ran up and hugged Smoker around the middle while he patted her almost awkwardly on the shoulder. She didn't hug Zoro at all, and I wondered about that briefly before I joined in waving goodbye as Tashigi climbed into the moving truck and Pell took the driver's seat.

Then they were off down the road, around a corner and out of sight.

No one said anything for awhile, all lost in our own thoughts. It didn't last very long however, as Luffy suddenly raised his head and looked around.

"I'm hungry," he announced.

* * *

><p>And so our group found itself at a nearby buffet-style restaurant, selecting a table before wandering off to fill our plates.<p>

Ussop had texted Robin on the drive to the restaurant and she met us at the door, apologizing for missing Tashigi's sending off a few minutes before. She had been called to the lab that morning and had only just finished when we were on our way down town.

As I chose from a few meat selections, setting the morsels next to my potatoes, I could see Sanji at the next line, looking over some kind of fish platter with a critical eye. Zoro was one line across from him with Luffy, making sure my cousin didn't overload his poor plate (he had managed to crack dinnerware with the weight of food alone before) and Ussop and Chopper had skipped the meal altogether and were perusing the dessert table at the far wall.

I met Nami and Robin on the way back to our table and we sat down together to eat.

"So," Nami started after quickly scanning the area to make sure it was boy-free. "How did last night go?"

"Hm?" I asked, looking up from my plate and realizing she had directed the question at me. "Which part?" She had been at the party the entire time, so I wasn't really sure exactly what she was referring to.

"You know," Nami tilted her head with a devious grin. "When you went home with Zoro."

"Oh," I faltered. I could feel Robin watching closely from the chair next to mine, although she remained silent for the moment. "Oh!" I said again, realizing the kind of conclusion my redhead friend had arrived at. "No, it wasn't anything like that. He just gave me a ride."

"I'll bet he did," Robin murmured over her drink.

"Robin!" I exclaimed, scandalized, and glowered at Nami when she laughed out loud. "Come on, you two! Do you really think I'd go from not being able to stand the guy to tumbling him into my bed?"

"Who are you tumbling into bed?" Ussop asked from behind me.

I whipped around, feeling my cheeks burn, and spotted Ussop and Chopper approaching the table. Ussop was trying to hide a smirk, but Chopper just looked nonplussed.

"No one," I said quickly as Ussop sat down on my other side and Chopper took the chair across from us, beside Nami. "It's just an expression."

"I know what it's an expression for," Ussop grinned fully. He paused, biting his lip with his brow furrowed. "And I've decided that I really don't want to know," he concluded. "Forget I asked."

"Asked what?" Zoro set his plate on the table before taking the seat next to Ussop.

I rubbed a hand down my face, partially out of annoyance and partially to hide my blush. "Nothing," I ground out.

"Something about a bed," Chopper supplied helpfully.

I had to try _very hard _not to kick him under the table.

"It's nothing," I repeated tersely. "I was just saying that- Nami, stop laughing!- that I need a new bed. That's all."

"Why?" Zoro asked around a mouthful of potatoes. "There's nothing wrong with the one you have now."

I saw the eyebrows of Nami, Ussop and Robin fly up as if attached to invisible strings.

"And how the hell would you even know that, idiotic moss head?" Sanji asked angrily, banging his own plate down next to Chopper very suddenly and out of nowhere. "As if Syla would ever let a cave man like you anywhere near it."

Everyone else at the table turned their gazes to me in silent question and I felt myself shrink down in my seat a little.

_Ohmygodjustkillmenow._

"Hey guys!" Luffy bounded up to the table noisily, balancing two heaping platefuls of food and grinning like a maniac. "Look what I found!"

"Luffy!" Nami scolded. "What did I tell you about overloading your plates? You're going to make a mess, you know." She turned to Zoro. "I thought you were monitoring him?"

"Why's it my job?" Zoro frowned back at her. "Anyway, he made it to the table fine."

"How can you even eat so much of that garbage?" Sanji directed at Luffy with a disgusted look. "It's barely food to begin with."

"It's good," Luffy argued. His defense of his meal was difficult to understand, owing to the fact that he had already shoveled half of the contents of one of his plates into his mouth. "Try some."

Sanji declined rather violently, forcing Chopper to scoot out of danger and Nami to turn her irritation on him, instead. Ussop and Robin also became absorbed in the near-food-fight and I doubted Zoro even had a clue what everyone else had been hinting at before Luffy's arrival, anyway.

I breathed a sigh of relief and finished my own plate without being faced with any more awkward questions, deciding I would buy an entire freezer full of steaks for Luffy as a Christmas present this year. He had definitely earned it.

* * *

><p>AN: Well, at least someone will get a present :D And with Tashigi gone, how will Syla live up to her promise?

Next up: What To Do With Demon Moss Heads and their Bizarre Behavior.


	16. Chapter 16

I'm still not sure this one came out the way I was aiming for, hopefully it still fits alright. You can go ahead and blame Zoro if it doesn't. I always do.

Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece

Warnings: Mild Language

* * *

><p>Later that day, as I was sitting at my dining room table and staring unseeingly at the tiny screen of the television perched on the counter, I received an unexpected phone call from Robin.<p>

I had spent the rest of the afternoon tidying up in my apartment and trying not to think too much about Tashigi, and how she wouldn't be with me at the store the next day. When that didn't work I turned to the lists of inventory I would need to finish before the end of the week, but that only reminded me of Tashigi again so I set them back on the counter and turned on the old TV as a last resort.

Looking at the screen of my phone as it rang I realized that I had been seriously neglecting some of my other friends and promised myself that I would put in a better effort in the near future. As it turned out, Robin had already made that decision for me.

"Hey," I answered in what I hoped was an interested tone.

"_We need to talk_," Robin stated immediately.

I recognized that specific voice as the sound of 'you're not getting out of it this time, so just say yes'. I sighed and hit the power button on the remote in my hand. "Yeah," I agreed. "I'll be over in a few minutes."

* * *

><p>I arrived at Robin's house as promised and was greeted with the delicious aroma of freshly-made food.<p>

"You sure I'm not interrupting?" I asked as Robin closed the door behind me. I hoped briefly that Franky might appear around the corner any moment and I would escape what I knew would be an awkward conversation.

"No," Robin gestured to one of the chairs at the dining table. "It's for you. I thought we could have dinner while we talked."

"Oh. Thanks." _Dammit._

Robin smirked before turning toward her kitchen counter and I had the feeling she knew exactly what I had been thinking. I wouldn't have been at all surprised if it turned out the woman was psychic or something.

Robin returned to the table as I sat down and set a plate of chicken and sautéed onion gravy on the table in front of me, then sat herself across from me with her own plate. There was already a bottle of wine on the table, along with a basket of sliced bread, and I smiled to myself as I realized once again how elegant and romantic Robin managed to make everything seem. Even if it was just a small dinner with a friend in her home.

We ate in silence for several minutes, neither of us saying a word, and I caught myself glancing up at her every once in awhile. She didn't look at me but kept her focus on her meal, seeming completely at ease. It was starting to drive me a little bit crazy.

"Alright," I said after a few more minutes. "What did you want to say?"

"I should be asking you that," Robin finally raised her eyes to mine. "What's going on?"

I broke the eye contact and picked at the chicken on my plate. "What are you talking about?" I asked, knowing she would be able to see how tense I was but trying for a nonchalant air anyway.

"Something has been taking up a great deal of your thoughts lately," Robin moved to refill our wineglasses as she spoke. "And although I have a pretty good idea of what it might be, I would much rather hear it straight from you." She looked me over with that unnerving blue gaze of hers again. "What's going on with you and Zoro?"

My first thought was to deny everything outright, change the subject and forget about the question completely. I knew that wouldn't work with Robin so my next option was to downplay the events and insist it was nothing. At this point however, I was beginning to realize that was very far from the truth.

Eventually I sighed in defeat and reached for my wineglass. "Why do you ask?"

"Because honestly I've been a little concerned," Robin admitted. "Until recently, it was as if you simply ignored Zoro, couldn't see or hear him when he was around. Now though, I've noticed how you watch him, and watch _for_ him, and it feels like you're waiting for something. Your attitude regarding him has been changing, although it appears that you are less than happy about it."

I couldn't really say that any of what she said was untrue, as much as I wanted to do just that. Since there was no need to ask how Robin knew any of this (ninja lady) I didn't say anything at all, picking at my plate thoughtfully.

As absorbed as I was in my musings, it took me a moment to realize that Robin had stopped talking and I looked up at her again, seeing the question she was directing at me through her expression: _Am I right?_

I sighed again. "Yes, you're right," I nodded. I took another drink, tapping my finger on the side of the glass as I decided what I should do, and in the next moment came to the conclusion that the best plan of action would be the thing I should have done from the beginning. "Alright," I started. "Do you remember the night I picked Zoro up from the docks? It was the same night we met Pell. Anyway, he ended up staying at my house…"

I told her everything, from sharing a bed with the moss monster, hinting at the partially-recovered memory the next morning and confusion following that realization. I could tell that Robin already had questions, but she kept herself quiet and let me continue, for which I was grateful. I wasn't sure I could make myself keep going if I stopped now.

Next was my panic over the car accident, all the times I nearly asked Zoro about that night, the argument (if that's what it was) at Brook's party and the chance meeting downtown, which had led to the dinner at The Baratie.

Then I took a deep breath and explained about the incident in the alley, assuring her that nothing had happened and I had gotten away just fine thanks to Luffy and Zoro. I didn't have to say much about the Going Away party, as she had been there in person, but I did admit to a couple of the things I had been thinking (the things I remembered, anyway), Johnny's weird behavior and Zoro's weirder reactions to it, ending with the shock of finding him in my apartment that morning.

"Shit!" I covered my face with my hands when I was done with the entire explanation. "I'm pretty sure I have no idea what's going on, anymore."

"Yes," Robin agreed in a demure tone. "I can imagine it would be awfully confusing, falling for someone like him."

"Yeah, I-" I stopped short, yanking my hands down to stare at her. "_Falling_?" I repeated. "For _that guy_? Have you lost your mind?" When Robin gave a little laugh at my expression I shook my head. "You have, haven't you? What a sad waste."

Robin chuckled behind her hand for another moment and I gave her a curious stare.

"How did you arrive at that conclusion, anyway?" I asked, frowning. I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to know, but if Robin was as perceptive as I had always thought her to be, maybe she could help clear some of the confusion in my head.

"How about I ask you a few questions first?" Robin set her hand back on the table, still smiling. "Then I'll tell you."

"Alright," I agreed a little reluctantly. I had already known this was coming. "Shoot."

Robin sat back in her chair and studied me with a considering gaze. "What do you think of Zoro?"

"He's lazy and annoying," I answered immediately.

My friend gave a small smile and arched one delicate brow. "And?"

"And," I sighed. "Stubborn. Surly. Protective…" I trailed off, barely seeing Robin's growing smile as I continued. "Loyal, in a weird way. Strangely perceptive, too. Helpful, when he wants to be, and…not too bad-looking, I guess," I muttered the last bit, taking a quick drink from the wineglass in front of me. I knew it was safe to say these kinds of things to Robin; she kept secrets well.

"I see," Robin murmured. She waited until I looked up at her before speaking again. "Syla, do you think that maybe you're fighting something that isn't there?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean," Robin shrugged, "that maybe the way you see Zoro and his personality, his entire being in fact, has been warped by something in your past. Possibly something connected with your lost memories. One night in particular." She tilted her head and smiled at my surprised look. "I actually figured that might be the case," she explained. "That you had forgotten a good part of- that time. Nami and Tashigi agreed with me, although no one really knew how to bring it up to you, so we left it alone. Until now."

I nodded once, my eyes fixed on the wood of the table. "Tashigi said something this morning," I admitted. "Or started to, anyway. She ran out of time before she could say what it was, though."

"I can't really claim to know what Tashigi had in mind," Robin gave another graceful shrug. "But I do want to tell you something. I don't know if it will be of any help to you, however."

"Is it about the 'one night in particular'?" I guessed.

Robin nodded. "Yes. It was the night after-" she stopped herself, biting her lip apologetically.

"It's been four years, Robin," I said evenly. "You can say it."

"Alright. The night after Ryu died, Ace called me around midnight. He sounded rather upset, said you wouldn't let anyone near you, so I went to your uncle's house." Robin ran one finger along the side of her wineglass, gaze lifted toward the ceiling as if she were picturing the scene all over again. "When I arrived I thought maybe Ace had been mistaken, you seemed to be asleep on the couch. But whenever one of us would draw near you, you pulled away. Ace and Luffy tried to make you more comfortable but you wouldn't let them close enough to do so. It wasn't until Zoro leaned over to slide a pillow under your head that you responded with anything else."

"What did I do?" I asked, suddenly feeling a little drained.

"You latched on to him," Robin answered. "And wouldn't let go."

_Well, that isn't embarrassing or anything_, I thought, resisting the urge to cover my face again. Robin waited until I had stopped grimacing at the wall and nodded for her to continue.

"After that, Zoro stayed with you most of the time. At first it was almost twenty-four-seven, but after the first week it was just at night." Robin paused again, her brow furrowed. "I think," she began slowly, "that he was trying to protect you in some way, and this was the only method he had of doing it. Then, when you…came back to yourself, and didn't remember any of it, I believe that for him, it was…"

"Hurtful," I finished quietly. "So the obnoxious monster really does have a heart, after all. Why didn't he say anything…No. Wait. He didn't know…" I put one hand on the table to steady myself. There were times, I knew, that having an epiphany of this scale was both relieving and so very useful for the future. I doubted this was one of those times. "It was me. I did this."

Several things began falling into place all at once as I sat frozen at Robin's dining table: Zoro's cold, indifferent attitude over the last few years; the comments and avoided eye contact; the subtle change after the night in my apartment; his startling reaction on the dance floor during the After Party - this was a big one- and the careful, cautious way he was now moving just a little closer every day. Now that I remembered at least part of what I had forgotten, maybe he thought there wasn't such a strong reason to keep a distance anymore.

"Do you," I started, my throat suddenly feeling very dry. "Do you think…it's not like he…"

"I can't say what it is," Robin shook her head slightly. "I'm not sure one way or the other. You'll have to figure that part out for yourself." She stood from her chair to move to the one next to me.

"Dammit!" I wailed, giving in to the need to plant my hands over my face again. "I am such an ass!"

"It wasn't your fault, Syla," Robin said somewhat sternly. "You were distraught at the time, your mind was only trying to protect itself by blocking those memories."

"Not that part," I groaned, barely waiting for her to slide my plate out of the way before I fell forward onto the table. "I can't believe I didn't notice!" I paused for a moment, turning my head to peek out at Robin from between my fingers. "But _you_ did!' I said accusingly. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Would you have listened before now?" Robin asked reasonably. She patted my shoulder in a gesture of comfort. "Oh, well. Better late than never."

"Now, hold on," I said, sitting up again to look at her. "I'm not sure I even_ like _the guy, let alone- Bah!"

"I think Zoro might be back in the same boat, at this point," Robin told me sagely. "Take your time, Syla. No one is in a hurry."

"Bizarre," I stated simply. The word pretty much summed up everything that had happened in the last month.

"Indeed," Robin agreed with another short chuckle.

We sat in silence for a few minutes before she straightened in her chair and I turned to meet a worryingly mischievous grin on her face.

"What?" I asked warily.

"How much do you remember from last night, exactly?" Robin smiled.

The smile was infectious. "Not much. Was I horrible?" I asked. If she was willing to give an easy change of subject, I wasn't about to hesitate to take it.

"No," she shook her head. "Just more talkative than usual. Nothing very incriminating."

She went on to explain how I had gone from sitting with Zoro to dancing with Johnny (the horror) and back to Zoro when the moss head had cut in to pull me away. Johnny hadn't even tried to stop him. After that it was mostly chatter and laughing until Nami decided I had better be taken home, as I had apparently had enough fun for one night.

Johnny had volunteered first but Nami pointed out that he didn't know where I lived and that someone who hadn't been drinking quite so much ought to do it. Luffy had selected Zoro (damn that boy, I knew it) and that's where the night ended.

"I'm not sure what happened after that, though," Robin ended the explanation with another shrug.

"A lot of passing out and drooling, I would imagine," I answered. "I was still in that huge robe of his when I woke up."

"A gentleman, then," Robin smirked again.

"We'll see," I stood from my chair and Robin followed a second later. "Thanks for dinner," I smiled. "And the talk. You're right, it was needed."

"Any time, Syla," Robin said as she walked with me to her front door and opened it. "You know that."

"Yeah," I agreed. "I wont forget again. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

* * *

><p>AN: Hmm. A piece of the puzzle is finally in place...


	17. Chapter 17

I am so, so sorry for the wait! I had a really nasty writer's block, but eventually managed to find my Muse Hammer and knock it down.

Disclaimers: I do not own One Piece

Warnings: Hardly Any

As always, enjoy!

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><p>The following Friday, as I finished showing Caimie how to properly store the fresh food for the water dragons, I finally admitted to myself that I was going to have to talk to Zoro.<p>

I had been avoiding the subject for almost a week now, thinking of excuses or reasons that I couldn't confront the monster at that moment, and that I would get to it later (or never). But the promise I had made to Tashigi was starting to weigh heavier on my mind every day, and I figured I would probably feel loads better if I at least checked on Zoro, just for a few minutes.

"Hey," Caimie leaned over the counter to get my attention.

"Sorry," I turned to her quickly, trying to brush Zoro out of my head enough to focus on my new worker. "What were you saying?"

Caimie flashed a bright grin and giggled. "Are you always so distracted?" she asked.

"Sometimes," I smiled in return. "It's just been a weird week." I hadn't been able to stop thinking about what I had discovered at Robin's house and worried that I might be going just a little bit insane because of it. The realization had helped tremendously with figuring out a little more of what was going through Zoro's head, but my own was still pretty much a mystery.

Caimie nodded in answer and picked up the container she had been working on, losing her grip not a second later. "Whoops!"

I automatically reached out and caught it by the edge, steadying it in her hand without having to think too much about it. Working with Tashigi for so long had given me the reflexes of a cat, and a good eye for accidents. "Steady."

"Sorry," Caimie apologized. "I'll be more careful."

"It's fine," I waved the incident away, watching as she followed the last of my instructions in a cautious manner.

It was Caimie's second day at the store, and I was already getting used to her clumsy tendencies and forgetfulness. Not too far out of my experience range, actually. She was a sweet girl however, with a good set of people skills and a cheerful attitude. She was also a newly-wed, I found out, and her husband, a big man with an unusual hairstyle, was just as eccentric as Caimie herself.

Also, apparently Caimie didn't have any real _need_ to work, as Hachan made enough to support them both, but she was a fairly restless person and enjoyed having something to do while he was away. This had turned out to be an ideal arrangement; with winter approaching the business in the store would be slowing to a crawl, so I really didn't require too much extra help.

"And that's the last of it," I told her, locking the register and closing the deposit bag. "Is Hachan coming to get you, or do you need a ride home?"

"He should be here any minute," Caimie nodded. "Ah!" she exclaimed. "You've never officially met him, have you? Would you like to?"

I thought about this quickly. It was true that I had only seen the man from a distance, and a proper introduction would be welcome, at some point. It would also give me another excuse for not visiting the dojo, which was more than a little tempting. I didn't know how much longer I could politely put off Tashigi's request however, so I had to decline the offer.

"I would like to," I said. "But maybe another time. I have a few things to do before I go home today."

"Alright," Caimie agreed. "He'll be around for awhile."

"Glad to hear it," I grinned.

I let her out the front door as Hachan pulled their car up to the curb and she turned to wave at me.

"See you next week," she called cheerfully.

"Yeah, see you then," I returned the wave and closed the door, locking it again before moving around the store for the last-minute closing operation.

As I left through the back door and walked to my car, I had a strong second thought about what I was going to do, but managed to force it away and steeled myself for the encounter I knew was coming.

* * *

><p>The Ishin Dojo may have been the only dojo in Grand Line City, but it was enormous. No matter how many times I found myself in that building, there was always a chance I would need a little assistance to get around, which was why I found it to be nothing short of a miracle that this was the only place in which Zoro managed to <em>never <em>get himself lost.

I walked down a familiar hall (it looked familiar anyway, but it was difficult to tell), trying to inconspicuously peek into a few practice rooms as I moved, listening for the familiar growl that belonged to the moss monster I was searching for.

"Syla?"

I turned around quickly, attempting to look less like a creeper by busying myself with studying a motivational poster on the wall beside me, and a moment later spun fully to see a familiar face, if not the one I was actually looking for. "Mr. Kimura. Hi. I uh, didn't see you there."

"Are you looking for Luffy?" Tashigi's father asked in his mild tones. "I'm afraid he's already left for the day."

"No, I'm, uhm," I hesitated, feeling a little foolish for reasons Koshiro probably didn't even know about, which made it even sillier, before taking a deep breath. "I was actually looking for Zoro," I said quickly.

"Zoro?" Koshiro's face showed the expected degree of surprise, his eyebrows lifted behind the round frames perched on his nose. His features smoothed themselves a moment later and he smiled. "I see. Zoro's class is running a little behind today, but it shouldn't be much longer now."

_Wait a minute_, my brain protested. _Zoro's _class?

Said brain pondered this for another confusing moment as Koshiro waited patiently in the hall beside me. Wasn't Zoro already a master? What would he need another class for?

"What class is he in?" I asked curiously.

"The Kendo Introduction class," Koshiro explained calmly. "He's running through the last of the beginner's exercises with his students."

_Students?_

"Students?" My stupid mouth decided to repeat what my brain had already processed. I quickly tried to cover my own shock, but realized it was useless when I heard Koshiro give a quiet chuckle.

"Yes," he said in amusement. "They were Tashigi's students, but when she moved to Alubarna, Zoro agreed to take over for her. At least until we can find a more permanent replacement."

"You've got to be kidding me."

_Shut _up_, mouth!_

Koshiro's chuckle turned into a laugh. "Not at all." He smiled at my perplexed expression before gestured further down the hall. "Go see for yourself. Third door on the right."

"Alright," I said slowly. "Thanks."

I made my way over to the aforementioned door, still feeling a little skeptical, and peered in through the open doorway.

Zoro was standing at the front of the room, a few yards away from me, wearing the traditional uniform of a kendo instructor and a much smaller frown than usual. Placed around the small room and facing him with rapt attention were seven children, all around the age of seven or eight years old. They were listening patiently to the moss head's explanation (something to do with an exercise they had probably just finished, I guessed) and, although no doubt ready to have their freedom restored to them, were visibly trying to absorb as much information from their teacher as they could.

As I looked on, unnoticed, Zoro began walking around the room while the students moved into practiced stances, correcting their form and offering encouragements every once in awhile. I really shouldn't have been so surprised by the sight, given how Zoro had always acted toward Chopper, but I couldn't seem to stop myself from feeling amazed.

_Zoro likes kids_, I thought. _Well, that's…unexpected_.

Of course, it wasn't immediately obvious to any random outside viewer, given his rigid stance and short, almost curt sentences, but it was there in the way he firmly but gently guided the students through the motions. In the way he insisted they try again if they got it wrong or became frustrated, never losing patience or raising his voice.

_Maybe that's why he gets along so well with Luffy, too_, I smiled to myself.

After just another few minutes, Zoro walked back to the front of the room and dismissed the class.

"Alright," he said clearly. "Practice your forms over the weekend. I want to see them again on Tuesday. Got it?"

"Yes, Zoro!" The students agreed quite happily and Zoro waved them out the door without another word.

I stepped to the side to let them pass into the hallway, and was about to enter the room when I noticed one of the boys hanging back, toeing almost morosely at the matted floor. I ducked behind the doorframe again to listen in, feeling like a sneak but not very sorry about it.

"What's wrong?" Zoro asked.

"I can't do it," the boy said sadly. "I can't get it right. I'm not good enough."

I felt a small tug on my heart at his words. It was almost exactly the same thing Luffy had told me years ago, when he had been ready to give up on his training completely. Shanks had talked him back up then, encouraged him to keep trying. I wondered how Zoro would handle this boy.

Zoro sighed. "Yes, you can. Just imagine yourself holding the forms, and practice them in front of a mirror or something, so you can see it for yourself. You're not bad at it, kid. Sometimes it just takes more practice, so don't give up yet, alright?"

The boy sniffed loudly. "Alright, Zoro."

"Good," Zoro answered in an almost gentle tone. "Go on home, then. I'll see you next week."

The boy walked past me and I gave him a small smile before stepping through the doorway. "Hey, that wasn't too bad."

Zoro straightened quickly from where he had been collecting the mats from the floor. "Syla," he acknowledged in surprise.

I paused for a moment, trying to decode the expression on his face, and suddenly realized I had seen it from him before; a mixture of wariness and self-doubt, subtle of course, but two things I never imagined I would ever see from _Zoro._

He recovered from one second to the next, bending down to continue with his work. "What's up?" he asked casually.

_Good question, actually, _I thought. _What am I doing here, again?_

I couldn't tell him that I was here on Tashigi's orders and would be tailing him around for awhile. Not only would that sound extremely stupid, but would also be very counterproductive. I doubted Zoro would appreciate having a babysitter.

_Stall him, _was my next thought.

"So," I started. "They call you 'Zoro'?"

"Yeah," he grinned, already seeming a little more relaxed. "I guess 'Roronoa' is a little too much at their age. 'Zoro' is easier. I don't really care either way."

"Do you like teaching?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"It's not too bad," Zoro shrugged, turning to place all the rolled mats in the corner of the room. "Tashigi's better at it, though."

"They must miss her," I ventured, watching his reaction. When none was immediately forthcoming and Zoro continued to fuss with the mats, his back to me, I tried again. "I definitely do."

"Yeah," Zoro turned around with a small shrug. "It's different." He walked past me, toward the door. "I gotta go change."

"Do you need a ride?" I asked, almost desperate to keep him within sight, which was a novel idea for me.

"Nah," Zoro called behind him. "Koshiro's gonna take me. Don't worry about it."

I heard Tashigi's voice in my head as Zoro disappeared from sight. _Don't let him withdraw from all of you._

But was that what he was doing now? Or did he just not want to be around _me_? Either way, I suddenly realized that keeping my promise was going to be a lot more difficult than I had realized.

_Thinkofsomethingthinkofsomet hingthinkofsomething- Got it!_

"Wait, Zoro!" I ran after him, catching up to his side when he was half-way down the long hallway. "Actually, I need you to come with me today. Just for a little while."

Zoro stopped walking and turned to face me. "Why's that?"

"I can't tell you," I said immediately. "It's a…surprise."

He looked like he was thinking about this for another moment. "Okay," he finally agreed. "I guess I'll let Koshiro know."

"Good," I nodded. "I'll meet you at the front entrance."

Then I turned around and walked away from him quickly, waiting until I was out of earshot before digging my phone out of my pocket to call Franky.

_I must be out of my mind_, I thought. _But this time it might be worth it._

* * *

><p>AN: Grrr Zoro! Why are you so stubbornly obnoxious?


	18. Chapter 18

Wow, this is getting a lot more involved than I had originally planned for it to be, and for that I have to give credit to everyone who favorited and reviewed! Thanks guys!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece

Warning: Brief, Mild Language

* * *

><p>Zoro met me at the door a few minutes later, wearing a dark blue pull-over and jeans, his duffle bag over one shoulder. He was frowning slightly as he approached me.<p>

"Alright," he said as we left the dojo. "Where are we going?"

"To see Franky," I answered.

"What?" Zoro cocked a dark eyebrow as he tossed the bag into my back seat. "Why?"

"I already told you," I climbed into the driver's seat and started the engine. "It's a surprise."

Zoro bent down to give me a pointedly suspicious look before folding himself inside the car and closing the door. "I'm not sure I like the sound of that," he muttered.

"No faith, Roronoa," I chided lightly.

He only snorted lightly and turned away, keeping his face pointed toward the side window.

Zoro was quiet pretty much the entire drive to Cutty's Garage, staring out at the streets and sitting unnaturally still. So, he was definitely bothered more than he was letting on. Not too surprising, honestly.

What was surprising was how well I could read him, even when he wasn't talking, or even looking at me. Since when had I been able to do something like that?

"_Since always."_

Tashigi's voice echoed in my head and I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. She knew something, I was sure of it. And, I thought as I pulled into a parking space beside Franky's shop, whatever it was that she knew, she was probably right, even if I didn't really understand what that meant.

But one thing at a time, I reminded myself as I climbed out of my car and waved for Zoro to follow me. He got out a little more slowly and we entered through the garage door, walking through the side of the work shop.

There were a few vehicles in the long shop, ranging in age and condition, and I stopped in front of an old grey pickup, signaling for Zoro to wait there while I went inside the office. Zoro made a huffing sound and shoved his hands into his pockets, but didn't really protest beyond that.

Franky was sitting at his desk and looked up with a grin when I entered the room. "Hey, Girly," he greeted. "Everything's ready."

"Thanks, Franky," I smiled back at him. "Sorry about the short notice thing, it's kind of a spur of the moment deal, actually."

"No problem," Franky stood up to walk around the wide desk. "It was already pretty much finished when you called. I was surprised though, didn't think you were listening to me when I mentioned it the other day," he gave a short laugh and reached for one of the envelopes hanging on the wall. "Who's it for, anyway?"

"Zoro," I answered easily.

Franky nearly dropped the envelope. "Huh? Really?"

"Yes, really," I rolled my eyes at him playfully. "He's in the garage. He doesn't know, though. Can we take care of the exchange in here?"

"Yeah, sure." Franky moved back around the desk and sat in front of his computer, piecing together an invoice and printing it off. He held the paper out to me and I took it without looking. "No charge for the labor- ah," Franky cut in when I tried to protest. "I think I know why it's gonna be Zoro's, so no charge. Got it?"

"Fine," I relented. "Let's do this."

The rest of the exchange was handled quickly, and Franky handed the envelope over to me as we left his office.

Zoro was right where I had left him, looking around the garage and appearing to be interested in a lot of the equipment despite himself. He turned to meet us when we walked over to him and I held out the envelope for him to take.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Open it," I told him. "You'll see."

Zoro took it a little cautiously and looked inside. "These are keys," he said slowly.

"Yep," Franky agreed from behind me. I could almost feel him trying to hold back a laugh and stepped heavily but discretely on his foot to keep the thought away.

"What are they for?" Zoro wondered, sliding the keys from the envelope into his hand.

I gestured at the grey pickup behind him and he turned to follow my gaze. "It's not much to look at from the outside," I admitted. "But it works."

"Super well, too," Franky put in. "Fixed her up myself. You wont have any problems."

Zoro stared at the pickup for a few long moments before turning back to me. "Why…"

"It's a present," I explained, feeling the corner of my mouth twitch in amusement at his confounded expression. "From Franky and Luffy and me. For your birthday."

"Really?"

"Yeah," I agreed (I would have to remember to tell Luffy about it later). "Really. And don't you dare refuse it, either," I warned. "You don't have to use it permanently, just until you can get something else."

"I…uh…" Zoro muttered.

"Just say thanks," Franky advised.

"Yeah," Zoro nodded. "Thanks."

Franky chuckled and walked around us to the driver's side of the pickup. "Well," he said as he opened the door. "You wanna take her for a spin, bro?"

"Sure," Zoro smiled, really, genuinely, _smiled_, and walked forward to meet Franky. He paused beside the door and turned back to me. "My bag," he started.

"I could take it to your apartment," I offered. "Is Johnny home?"

Zoro was silent for awhile, one hand on the open door and brow furrowed as he thought something over, then he raised his head and looked at me again. "Do you…want to come with me?" he asked. "Throw the bag in here and take your car to your place, then give this thing a real test run?"

_Really? _I thought_. He's actually _volunteering _to be stuck in a vehicle with me? _It took me a moment to close my mouth long enough to form a response. "A-alright."

"Hey, Syla," Franky stepped around the door and held out one large hand. "Give me your keys. Iceberg and I can get your car home. We can take care of Zoro's bag, too."

"Oh," I pulled my own keys from my pocket and tossed them to Franky after detaching my house key. "Thanks." I then hoisted myself up into the passenger seat as Zoro slid in on the other side. A moment later Franky had moved closer to tap on my window, and I rolled it down while fumbling with the seatbelt at the same time.

"The title's in the glove box," he explained. "All you gotta do is sign it, bro. And it's still on my insurance for the next two weeks. Got it?"

"'Kay," Zoro agreed as he started the engine. "Thanks, Franky."

"No problem," the big man grinned and backed away, hitting a white button on the wall. He was still wearing that too-wide grin when the garage door opened and he waved us out. "You crazy kids have fun."

I was getting the feeling that Franky found the whole situation entirely too amusing, but forgot about it as Zoro pulled the pickup out of the garage and onto the road, and soon we were heading back toward the city.

The first few minutes were spent in silence; I was trying to work over my sudden change in character involving the demon beside me, and who knew what mentioned demon was thinking about.

"You know," Zoro said after awhile. "My birthday isn't for a few more days. Next Tuesday."

"I know," I answered. "But there didn't seem to be a point in waiting, when you could be getting around better with a vehicle. Right?"

Zoro was quiet for another minute. "So, how much was it?"

"I can't tell you that," I shook my head. "And-" I cut in quickly when he opened his mouth again, "you're not allowed to pay us back either, so forget about anything like that. It's a _present_, Zoro. You don't owe us anything for presents." _Weirdo_, I added in my head.

Zoro didn't look completely convinced, frowning deeply as he drove toward the shopping end of town. "Why?" he asked again. "Why would you…I mean, I know you have enough money, but…" he trailed off, focusing on the road.

I sighed. It was true that I did have enough money, being the last surviving member of a highly successful and influential family, and I only worked at the store because I loved it and it helped Uncle Dragon immensely. But that wasn't why I had bought the pickup for him.

"Look," I started. "I'm not trying to buy myself into your good graces or anything, it's just…" I turned to look out the window, not sure how to explain it to him. Honestly, I had no idea why I had done it, myself. "I thought…you might like it."

"You're idea, then," he concluded.

I winced a little as I realized that I had revealed a bit more than I had planned on doing. "Kind of," I admitted. "And it wasn't very much, anyway. Franky cut a pretty good deal."

"I see," Zoro said quietly.

We fell back into a short-lived silence until Zoro suddenly switched lanes, and subjects, and asked, "Have you eaten anything yet?"

"Oh," I pulled my mind back to the present to answer him. "Uhm, no. Not yet."

"Good," Zoro almost grinned as he pulled into the parking lot of a fast food restaurant. "I'm starving."

I smiled at him before following him inside the restaurant. When was the guy _not_ starving? In fact, most of the men I knew seemed to be nothing short of bottomless pits, especially Luffy and Zoro.

As we sat ourselves at a small table to eat I began to debate with myself over whether or not I should tell Zoro about what I had learned from Robin during our last visit. On one hand, if he was aware that I knew a little more of what had happened, he would either be relieved that I knew, or uncomfortable about it, which would make him withdraw again. On the other hand, if I didn't say anything it would be possible to pretend that it never happened in the first place. I wasn't sure I liked either option, honestly.

"What is it?" Zoro asked suddenly.

"What?" I asked, dazed, then shook my head. "Nothing. Sorry."

Zoro was most of the way through his two huge sandwiches before I finally built up enough courage to speak again.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he responded absently.

"Why did you stay with me?" I blurted out. "The night after my brother died, and all the other nights, why did you stay?" I knew I was taking a risk. The last time this subject had been brought up between us, it had ended with Zoro storming out of the building. Now we were at a restaurant, and if it came to that end again, the drive back to my place would be a long one. If he took me at all.

Zoro stared at me, setting his half-eaten sandwich on the table. After a moment he chewed slowly, swallowed, and answered, "Because you asked me to stay."

"I…asked?" I felt as though a bucket of cold water had been dumped on my head. Sitting across from him, I began trying to make sense of everything. Again. "So, I wanted you to stay, and you did, but I forgot everything after…Then I…" I was aware that I was rambling out loud, but took Zoro's patient silence as a go-ahead and kept at it. "I've been so thoughtless for…for all this time, but I thought it was you and- And you still put up with me?" I asked, angry at myself for being such a dolt. "Why?"

I had been so cruel to him, and had never really considered myself to be cruel before now. Cranky and stubborn sometimes, short with my cousins on occasion, but not cruel.

But, once again, Zoro took me completely by surprise, throwing his head back as he laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

I stared at him, bewildered. Maybe I wasn't the only one going crazy. "Why are you laughing?" I scowled, feeling annoyed at the unexpected reaction. "What's so funny?"

Zoro managed to force down his laughter until it was just short bursts of chuckling. "Sorry," he apologized. "But just stop, Syla. You over-think things sometimes, you know that?"

"Would you rather have me _under_-think things?" I demanded.

Zoro sat back in his chair with a smile. "In this case," he shrugged. "Yeah."

I raised an eyebrow at him. What the hell did that mean?

"Look," Zoro started. "It's done and over with. If you never remember anything else, at least you remember that part." He was still smiling, and it was a much softer smile than I was used to seeing on his stern face. The sight was different, but not in a particularly bad way.

"Then, I'm glad," I nodded, knowing it was true only as I said it. "I'm glad you're not angry, or anything."

Zoro sighed and picked up his sandwich again. "We've been over this already," he pointed out. "I'm not a demon, Syla."

"I know," I agreed. _But I am._

"Neither are you," he frowned.

"What are you, a mind-reader?" I asked, surprised. "I mean really, between you and Robin it's almost impossible to keep my thoughts to myself."

"So Robin told you?" Zoro guessed with another grin.

_Dammit, mouth! What the hell is wrong with you today?_

"It's fine," Zoro waved a hand carelessly. "It doesn't matter. Just finish your sandwich, we've got a long night ahead of us."

"Why?" I asked, curious. I had thought he would be getting rid of me soon. Not that I minded a night out, it was Friday, after all.

"It's Yosuku's birthday," Zoro reminded me. "Remember?"

"Oh. Right." In truth I had completely forgotten about it. "The usual place?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "Eat while you can."

Luckily, I didn't require an entire field of grain and half of a cow to satisfy my hunger (unlike some people), and soon we were on our way to meet our friends at the Little Garden.

And, I thought as Zoro drove us toward our destination, only taking one wrong turn the entire time, maybe I would try being honest with the moss monster more often.

At that moment, I had no idea how difficult such a resolve would prove to be in the very near future.

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><p>AN: Dun dun duuuunnnn! Haha! Wow, why do I love to torture these poor souls so much?


	19. Chapter 19

Nope. I'm not dead. Just very, very busy. Sorry about the delayed update.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece

Warnings: Some Mild Language

Enjoy!

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><p>We made it to the Little Garden's parking lot at the same time as Nami, Robin, and Sanji. Zoro parked his pickup next to Robin's car and we clambered out to meet with the others before going inside, Robin giving me an all-too-knowing smile before hooking an arm around Zoro's to lead him through the door.<p>

"I'll just be another minute," I told Nami as Sanji opened the door for her next.

"Alright," Nami agreed. "But don't take too long. Johnny said the birthday drinks are about to start."

"Got it," I nodded to her and waited for the door to close behind them before pulling my phone from my pocket once again, finding the well-known number with ease.

Luffy picked up almost immediately. _"Why can't I come over there?_"he practically wailed into the mouthpiece.

"Not until next year," I reminded him. I wasn't surprised he knew where I was, as he always seemed to know, almost instinctually, where everyone in our family was at almost any given time. It was just one of his weird little quirks. "Listen, Luffy. We've given Zoro a pickup for his birthday, alright?"

The line went silent for a second, and I could almost see the pained, thoughtful expression on my cousin's face. "_Ah_," he finally responded. "_Like what we do for Ace and Dad?_"

"Just like that," I told him. "Okay?"

Luffy was used to not being allowed to choose gifts most of the time, as they would usually end up being something like a box of macaroni noodles or an empty flower pot. The gesture was nice but I had decided years ago that I would rather give complete gifts, and Luffy didn't seem to mind getting out of selection part of it.

"_Yeah!_" Luffy crowed. "_Go us!_"

"Good," I began walking toward the door of the bar. "I'll talk to you later, alright?"

"'_Kay,_" he agreed, immediately cheered up by the thought of Zoro's present."_Bye_."

I hit the end button on my phone and walked through the door to catch up with the others.

There weren't many other patrons in the building yet, and I easily spotted Zoro, Nami and Sanji sitting with Robin directly ahead of me. I didn't have much opportunity to look for anyone else however as three steps through the door I was attacked by a very happy, and _very _drunk, birthday boy.

"Syyylaaa!" Yosuku sang, nearly smashing me back into the door. "You made it!"

"Yes, yes," I agreed. I tried in vain to remove him from around my neck while simultaneously replanting my feet to avoid falling over completely. "I'm here. You know it's only eight o'clock, right?"

"I missed you!" Apparently Yosuku had no intention of backing off as he giggled into my hair.

"I saw you last week," I reminded him through a gasp when his grip around my neck tightened a fraction. "Remember?" Why was I friends with this weirdo, again?

"Alright," an unexpected voice chuckled from behind Yosuku. "I'm gonna have to ask you to get off my cousin now, before you suffocate her."

"Ace!"

I promptly threw Yosuku to the side, no longer caring where he landed, and ran toward Ace instead to hug him tightly around the middle.

It was like being a kid all over again; if there was ever a time when I was hurt or scared and Ryu wasn't around, Ace would always be there to pick me back up and set me on my feet. I hadn't realized how much I had always relied on my older cousin until he wasn't almost constantly around anymore.

"Whoa," Ace sounded surprised. When I didn't let go after a few moments he patted my shoulder experimentally. "Hey, Syla. Everything okay?"

"Yeah," I finally stepped back and smiled up at him. "I'm just glad you're here, that's all. Why didn't you tell me you were coming up to Grand Line?"

"Kind of a last minute decision," Ace shrugged. He turned to look toward the bar as Yosuku tried to tackle Nami next, only to be stopped non too gently by both Sanji and Zoro, the latter forcefully setting the intoxicated man on a stool beside him.

"Shall we?" Ace turned back to me with a questioning look. "We can talk later, alright?"

"Sure," I agreed with a nod, not at all surprised by the offer. He could probably almost feel my confusion, even if he didn't know why I was confused in the first place.

Ace draped one arm over my shoulders with another grin and we joined our friends at the long bar.

"Have you been home yet?" I asked, sitting myself beside Robin while Ace took a stool from the bar and pulled it out to straddle it backwards between us.

"Not yet," Ace admitted. He waved to Robin when she turned and gave him a polite nod. "Dad knows I'm here, but I'm not sure whether or not he's told Luffy."

I was guessing 'not', since Luffy hadn't said anything about it when I had talked to him a few minutes before. Although, I reminded myself, that didn't always mean much where my younger cousin was concerned. I had just opened my mouth to ask about Marco, whether he had come to Grand Line with Ace or not, when Johnny's loud voice came from further down the bar, on the other side of Zoro.

"Alright," Johnny called, raising a small shot glass in one hand. "Today is the twenty-third anniversary of this idiot's birth," he clapped a hand on the still-seated Yosuku's shoulder, who grinned drunkenly at everyone, before gesturing with the glass. "I don't know what's gonna happen tonight, but I doubt anyone wants that kind of mental scarring, so let's make sure no one remembers it!"

I heard Ace snort in amusement and turned to see Dorry setting similar shots along the bar in front of us. Robin handed one behind her for my cousin and we all followed Johnny in the toast before downing the shots at the same time.

"Well," Ace stood up and I took his empty glass. "I'd better go talk to Nami for awhile. I think she mentioned something about me owing her money. Don't know what for, though," he shrugged again.

"Alright," I smiled. "Be careful."

Ace shot me a confused look. "I'm only going a few feet away," he pointed out.

"That isn't what I meant," I laughed. "Just go, you'll find out."

Ace nodded, put the stool back in it's original place and walked off to find Nami. "'Kay."

"So," Robin turned toward me not a second later, her voice pitched low. "I see you've arrived with your new friend."

"Yeah," I nodded, ignoring the obvious bait.

"In a pickup Franky was working on earlier," Robin continued.

"Yep," I agreed again. I could feel her staring at the side of my head and tried not to look at her.

"He didn't buy it himself, did he?"

"Point?"

"No point," Robin shrugged lightly. "Just that, for someone you claim not to like very much, you're pretty focused on his happiness."

"Tashigi asked me to," I explained before ordering a beer from Broggy. "That's all."

Robin raised an eyebrow. "She asked you to buy a pickup?"

"Not exactly," I admitted, looking over her shoulder as Ace and Nami approached the jukebox in the corner of the bar. "She asked me to keep an eye on him."

"And have you?"

"Not until today," I sighed. "I guess I just…couldn't face him."

"And today?" Robin asked.

I moved my gaze to where Zoro stood with Yosuku, Johnny and Sanji, glancing away quickly when he looked directly at me, as if he knew I was staring at him. "Don't know," I answered honestly. "But I couldn't ignore him anymore."

"That's good," Robin nodded. "Well, I think I'll join those two at the jukebox," she grinned suddenly. "Someone needs to protect your poor unsuspecting relative from our dear Nami's ever-growing pocketbook."

"That's probably a good idea," I laughed as Robin stood up. "Thanks."

"Of course," she gave me one last nod before sweeping away toward Ace and Nami, a glass of wine in one hand.

I had just turned back to the bar when Johnny approached me, sitting down in Robin's vacated seat. "Hey, Syla," he greeted. "Can I get ya a drink?"

"Oh," I raised my full bottle. "Just got one. Thanks."

"How about a shot?" he offered.

"No thanks," I shook my head. "I think last weekend was enough excitement for awhile."

Johnny had just opened his mouth again when Zoro stepped up beside him. "Hey Johnny," he clapped his roommate on the shoulder. "Yosuku's asking for you."

Jonny shot him a dirty look but slid off the stool and marched toward where Yosuku was slurring at a bewildered-looking Sanji, grumbling under his breath as he went.

"Please just tell him," Zoro said once Johnny was out of earshot (this was helped by the sudden music filling the bar from the electronic jukebox). "For all our sakes."

"Tell him what?" I asked.

"That you're not interested," Zoro clarified as he sat down on the stool previously occupied by Johnny. "Unless you are?" He made it an obvious question, one dark eyebrow raised in my direction.

"Uhm," I shook my head. "No. Definitely not." I tapped the bottom of my bottle against the bar top, shrugging a little. "It didn't work the first time, you know."

"I know," Zoro took a drink from the mug in his hand. "But I guess he doesn't. So you should tell him."

"Alright," I agreed. "I will." I shot a sideways glance at Zoro. "Is that why he's been coming around?" I asked. I had assumed it had been because Zoro and I were on friendlier terms now, but apparently I had been mistaken.

"Well, its definitely not for your charming and lady-like conversation," Zoro snorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Or are you just like this with me?"

"Like what?" I demanded. We had been here a total of ten minutes and already he was starting to aggravate me. Unbelievable.

Zoro leaned in until his face was a mere few inches from mine, a sharp grin at the corners of his mouth. "Your guard is still up, Syla," he said quietly. "You think I don't know that?"

I made myself stay where I was, not backing down as I growled, "What do you know about my guard, anyway?"

Zoro leaned away slowly. "I think its safe to say I know enough about it," he said, the grin gone now. "Or have you forgotten again?"

"No," I answered, turning away from him. "I haven't forgotten." Damn it, but I hated when he was right. Which he was, in this case.

"Good," Zoro nodded. "Now, are you going to actually talk to the rest of us, or are you just going to sit down here by yourself all night?"

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled, turning on the stool to set my feet on the floor and trying to hide a small smile. I wasn't about to let him know he had won this round. "Let's go."

Zoro stepped back to give me space to move and we began to walk toward our small cluster of friends, side-by-side.

"By the way," I started before we had reached them. "What happened to your 'give your new pickup a test run' idea?"

"I trust Franky," Zoro shrugged. "If he says it works, then it works. But it was a good enough excuse to get you to come along with me for Yosuku's birthday."

"You could have just asked me," I said reasonably.

Zoro stopped and turned to look at me, an unexpected expression of surprise showing in his eyes. "Could I have?" he asked quietly. "Would you have come with me?"

"Of course," I answered, feeling a little surprised, myself. "Why wouldn't I?"

Zoro turned around the rest of the way, blocking my view of the others. "Look, I don't want you to feel like you're obligated to-"

"She told you, didn't she?" I interrupted. "Tashigi told you about…"

"Your promise?" Zoro supplied. "Yeah, she did. And you're off the hook. I don't need a babysitter."

"I figured as much," I shrugged. I chanced a glance around Zoro's arm, noting that Yosuku seemed to be making enough of a racket to keep everyone else occupied for the time being, before continuing. "And I don't feel 'obligated' to do anything." Alright, that might have been a lie right up until today, but it was different now. "I want to."

I felt myself freeze, not really sure if I had meant to divulge that particular piece of information, but knowing it was true anyway. Holding my breath, I moved my gaze back to Zoro's face and simply waited for his reaction.

Zoro's entire forehead crinkled in disbelief, his eyes widening as he stared down at me. "Why?" he asked.

_Honesty_, I reminded myself. _I promised to try honesty._

"I've…kind of enjoyed hanging out with you," I admitted, breaking the eye contact. "It's not so bad." It had been awkward, at first. Even today had started out as a little tense, but the more time I spent with Zoro, the more I was realizing that I was starting to have more fun than I would have expected. But that wasn't the entire reason.

Zoro didn't say anything for awhile, before finally responding quietly, "Is that right?"

I raised my eyes back to his, caught off-guard by his almost gentle tone, and found myself unable to breath as I was trapped by an incredibly out of character intensity in his gaze. The green of his irises were practically glowing, his brow pulled down low. But he was smiling, a very faint smile, and I felt myself relax in the next instant, letting out the breath I had been holding.

"Yeah," I shrugged, trying for a neutral response. The way my voice cracked slightly told me I had failed miserably and I cringed a little. "I suppose so."

Zoro's rigid stance melted away and he chuckled low in his throat. "Good to know, I guess," he smiled, before turning back around to face our group, laying a hand on my shoulder to nudge me along with him.

I was a more than a little grateful for the nudge, as my feet didn't seem to want to listen to my commands at the moment. But when that hand didn't move away immediately, and I could feel the warmth of it through my shirt, I wasn't quite so grateful as my brain decided to do some actual work and kicked into overdrive.

What the hell had that _look _been about, anyway? And why were my hands shaking? This was _Zoro_, for crying out loud, why was I acting like a complete idiot all of the sudden?

We stopped near the circle of people and I breathed a silent sigh of relief when Zoro let go of my shoulder to catch Yosuku instead as the drunk man tried to give him a friendly hug. My eyes sought out Ace, standing on the other side of the group, and I gave him a specific look: _Help_.

Ace caught on without the need for any more hints and patted Nami on the arm with a grin before moving around the group to stand on my other side, against the bar. "Wanna step out for a minute?" he asked quietly.

I nodded in agreement and we excused ourselves quickly, setting our drinks on the bar beside Johnny and exiting through the side door.

I stopped a few feet away from the building and took a few deep, steadying breaths. "_OhcrapIthinkIlikeZoro!_" I blurted out, clapping both hands over my eyes.

"He's a decent guy," Ace agreed. "What's not to like?"

"No, Ace," I groaned, letting my hands fall to my sides. "I _like_ him."

"I know what you meant," Ace replied calmly.

I frowned at him for a moment, deciding not to even question how he thought he knew that, and kicked at the packed dirt underneath my feet. "I have for awhile, now," I added almost morosely.

It was true and there was no sense in denying it anymore, at least not to myself. Looking back, I couldn't quite pinpoint the exact moment that I had started becoming more and more attracted to the annoying moss monster, but the attraction was undeniably there all the same. And that was what frustrated me the most, the reason I hadn't wanted to seek out Zoro immediately after Tashigi had left: I was afraid. I was afraid of getting too close to him.

"Yep, you have," Ace agreed again without batting an eye.

"Stop that!" I folded my arms defensively. "How could you possibly know-"

Ace cut me off by laughing loudly, ignoring my scowl as he walked forward and wrapped an arm around my tense shoulders. I held off for another moment before leaning my forehead against him in defeat. "It's okay," he soothed, although he was obviously trying not to laugh at me anymore. "It'll be fine."

"Shit, I am so screwed!" I wailed, hiding my face in my cousin's shirt. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"Jeez, Syla," Ace chuckled. "Why are you acting like this is some kind of horrific death sentence?"

"It could be," I muttered, sounding petulant to even my own ears. "You never know."

Ace pulled back to look me in the eye, still smiling. "It's not," he assured. "Look, let's just go in there and have fun tonight, okay? Relax, talk to him. You've known him for years, it shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"But that's just it," I protested. "I should know him better than I do, but I don't."

"Then _talk_ to him," Ace insisted. He waited until I had nodded silently in agreement before sighing, giving my arm a reassuring squeeze. "Well, you're not going to get very far by standing out here. Can we go back inside now?" His tone was teasing and I elbowed him in the ribs, smiling back reluctantly.

"Yes, alright," I answered with a long-suffering tone, rolling my eyes for good measure. It was an act, of course. On the inside, I was still feeling incredibly nervous.

Ace led the way indoors and we found the group sitting at a long table not too far from the side door. I was about to turn right and take the chair beside Robin, but Ace poked me in the back discretely and I grudgingly chose left instead, sitting next to Zoro while my cousin took the chair on my other side.

After the talk with Ace I did my best to appear casual, answering a question when asked and joining in on conversations around the table for the next hour. At some point, while he was discussing a topic of long-forgotten blade making techniques with Robin (go figure), Zoro rested his arm across the back of my chair and I tensed on reflex.

Noticing this, Ace pinched my leg and I immediately slapped his shoulder in retaliation, kicking off a traditional 'abuse your cousin' match which ended when Yosuku tipped over the rest of Sanji's drink trying to join in and Nami threw a fine threat in our direction. But the distraction had done it's job and, although Zoro didn't remove his arm, I was more relaxed now than I had been earlier.

When Johnny and Sanji got up from the table a few minutes later to get refills from the bar, Zoro leaned close and whispered into my ear, "I don't think you'll have to tell Johnny anything, after all."

I turned my head to give him a curious look. "And why is that?"

Zoro didn't answer, simply shrugged and moved back to his original position.

It wasn't too much longer before poor Yosuku had to be taken home, and Johnny called a cab for the both of them. He then told Zoro he would be staying with the birthday boy that night, and probably for the remainder of the weekend, as well. Zoro had nodded in answer and Johnny and Yosuku left the Little Garden a few minutes later.

The farewell had seemed a bit tense, and I had to wonder if that had anything to do with what Zoro had said earlier.

The rest of us didn't last much longer after Yosuku's departure. Nami and Ace had a quick discussion at the bar before leaving as well, Ace giving me a knowing smirk on his way out that had nothing to do with the man sitting next to me. Judging by the way Nami had been checking her phone every few minutes the entire time we had been sitting at the table, I had a feeling I knew why she had left with Ace.

Robin, Sanji, Zoro and myself all agreed that the brief get-together was over and, thanking Dorry and Broggy for the drinks, we all left as well.

Zoro insisted on driving me home and I climbed back into his pickup with only a small hesitation. Being in a room full of other people after my confession to Ace was one thing, being alone with Zoro was completely different.

Zoro pulled the pickup alongside the curb in front of my apartment and set it into park, staring quietly out the windshield.

"Thanks," I said, slowly unbuckling my seatbelt. "For the ride."

"No problem," he answered distantly.

I reached for the door handle, stopping just short of it and turned back to him. Although I had agreed with Ace about actually talking to Zoro at some point, I hadn't done very much tonight besides the usual small talk. So, deciding to go out on a limb and ignoring my pounding heart, I asked. "Do you want to come in for awhile? Since it's still kind of early, and everything," I added quickly.

Zoro looked at me for a long moment with an unreadable expression before turning the key and taking off his seatbelt. "Alright."

We went inside, Zoro closing the door behind us, and I slipped out of my shoes before moving toward my kitchen.

"I still have a couple of beers in the fridge," I called over my shoulder. "Oh, and some sake from Shanks and Makino's place if you-"

"Syla."

His voice was quiet, but the tone underlying it stopped me dead in my tracks, one hand frozen on the open refrigerator door. "What is it?" I asked. "No sake? I think I might still have some wine in the cupboard, or…" I trailed off when Zoro reached over my shoulder and closed the refrigerator door, blocking it with his hand.

"I don't need anything," he answered. "Listen, before you say anything else, I have to tell you something."

I waited for a heartbeat, still as a statue, with Zoro standing so close behind me I could feel the heat of his body against my back.

"Earlier tonight," he began in the same soft but strong tone, "when you went outside with Ace, Nami sent me after you. She said you had looked upset, so she was worried. And…I don't know why, but Johnny followed me."

I felt my heart freeze inside my chest. What was he saying? He couldn't have…heard me? Right? And yet, why would he bring it up if he hadn't? "So…what did you hear?" I asked, my throat dry.

"Everything," Zoro replied quietly. "Sorry. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, I promise."

I had stopped listening to him, banging my head against the heavy appliance in front of me. "Shit. I…"

I had been so careless, practically shouting something like that with all of them so close by, what had I been expecting? Now Zoro was going to tell me I was crazy, then he would leave and never want to talk to me again, and-

"Look at me."

"No," I curled in closer to the refrigerator, refusing to budge even when I felt his hands land lightly on my back.

"Come on, Syla," Zoro prodded. "Turn around."

"I don't want to," I refused stubbornly. "Just…tell me I'm wrong to even think it and get it over with."

"…I can't do that."

"Sure you can," I replied dryly, "It's easy. All you have to say is 'Syla, you're-'"

Zoro whipped me around by my shoulders, pressing me back into the refrigerator in one swift movement. "You're crazy," he nearly growled, right before he surged forward and crashed his lips against mine.

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><p>O.o<p> 


	20. Chapter 20

Woot! Almost done! Just one more to go and this entirely too long story will draw to a close. Tis sad, I'll admit.

And this one is a little shorter than the last one. Hopefully I can make up for that with the very last chapter :)

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece

Warnings: Language? Maybe?

As always, enjoy.

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><p>When I was sixteen years old I met the most aggravating, stubborn and driven person I had ever crossed paths with in my life: Zoro Roronoa.<p>

"_What's with that guy, anyway?" I asked as Ryu unlocked the door to our apartment and I stomped past him, tossing my jacket across the back of the couch. "Antisocial weirdo."_

"_He's not bad," Ryu shrugged. "Just a little quiet, but a nice kid."_

"_Nice?" I scoffed. "He didn't do anything but glare at everyone the entire time we were at Dragon's house."_

"_Kind of like someone else I know," Ryu muttered. When I opened my mouth to protest, he stopped me with a raised hand. "Look, he's Luffy's friend now, so please, just try to be nice to him? Please?"_

_I sighed and nodded, knowing he was right. "I'll try," I agreed._

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><p>When I was seventeen, I had at least learned how to tolerate the ape-man for a short amount of time before he got under my skin again.<p>

"_What are you doing out here?" Ace asked, sitting down on the front porch beside me. "Luffy's about to open his presents, you know. He seems pretty excited about that big box you brought over."_

"_If I have to spend one more second around Roronoa, I'm going to snap," I explained through clenched teeth. "Why does he have to be so obnoxious all the time?"_

_Ace looked up thoughtfully. "I guess I haven't noticed that he is," he shrugged. "Seems pretty normal to me."_

"_You just think he's cute," I sulked. _

"_True," Ace grinned. "But he's a pretty nice guy, too." He sighed and stood up again. "Come on, I don't know how much longer Dad and Ryu are gonna be able to stall Luffy before he starts breaking stuff."_

"_Fine," I agreed. "Just keep me away from the cake knife."_

"_Deal," Ace laughed, one arm around my shoulders as he opened the front door._

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><p>When I was twenty, I finally noticed how well Zoro had filled out after we had left school, although this didn't improve my outlook on him in the slightest. In fact, it was probably one of the more annoying things about him.<p>

_I walked through the dojo at a brisk pace, trying to locate my cousin so we could leave as soon as possible. As I made my way past the large tournament room, a flash of familiar green caught my eye and, against my better judgment, I paused to look inside the room._

_Zoro was standing shirtless in the middle of the wide area, going through several of his sentoryuu exercises and completely unaware that he was being watched. This wasn't too surprising, as the dojo was technically closed for the day, what was surprising was the strength and skill evident in each of his muscles as he moved. The carefully controlled power of each strike and parry and the concentration that was obvious in every swing and thrust had me completely enthralled in under two seconds._

_There was also the fact that he looked damn good doing it, and I felt my fingers curl unconsciously around the door frame. When had Roronoa become that good-looking? That didn't seem right._

"_See something you like?"_

_I jumped and spun around to see Tashigi standing behind me, grinning suggestively._

"_Of course not," I scoffed. "I was just…looking for Luffy."_

"_He's waiting for you in the front," Tashigi informed me, her mouth still twitching in amusement. "Come on, we can walk out together."_

"_Sure," I smiled back at her. Turning to glance through the doorway one last time, I saw that Zoro was now standing unnaturally still, his intense gaze watching me from over the bokken in his teeth._

_I felt my body grow cold one second before heating up the next, unable to actually move while locked in that stare. Frowning, I mentally shook myself and quickly moved away from the door to follow Tashigi to the front entrance._

"_Weirdo," I muttered under my breath as we walked._

_It had taken weeks to get the memory of that look out of my mind._

* * *

><p>The moment Zoro kissed me, my very first thought (if a swirling, squealing brain pointing out the blatantly obvious can be called a 'thought') was that his lips were much softer than I had expected them to be.<p>

The second thought was to get him out of my personal space. Immediately.

This probably had more to do with the fact that I simply wasn't used to being randomly kissed, and I could feel a slight panic building at the back of my mind. I raised my arms to move him away, and to my surprise felt them curl around the back of his neck instead.

_That was not the plan! _

But my frantic brain was ignored as my body decided it would be making all of the decisions for the next few minutes.

Finally giving in completely, I pulled Zoro closer and he grunted in surprise, one large hand moving to the refrigerator to keep us from overbalancing. His other hand went to the back of my neck, under my hair, and I found out that I very much liked that feeling. Almost curiously, I pressed the tip of my tongue against his lips and nearly melted on the spot when they parted slowly.

This was something new and exciting and scary all at once, and I felt my knees begin to weaken underneath me as I grasped at his shirt so as not to fall over. Luckily, it also seemed to set Zoro off to some degree, and he moved both hands to my hips, pulling me even closer (if that were at all possible), and simultaneously steadying me on my feet.

Zoro tasted like lime and mild alcohol, an intoxicating mix that left my brain a little fuzzy and my heart pounding fit to burst. I pushed myself up on my toes to get a better access to his mouth, my fingers running wildly through is short hair, but a moment later he pulled away, setting me down gently and taking a small step back.

"Wait," he gasped. "Wait a minute."

I leaned back against the refrigerator, feeling dizzy and disoriented from the sudden loss of contact, and nodded. "Yeah."

Zoro lifted his head to look at me, his pupils slightly dilated as he took a deep breath. "We gotta…slow down. Or…"

"Yeah," I said again, still not able to articulate much more at the moment. "Let's…"

We stood where we were for another moment, Zoro a mere foot or so in front of me, before he reached out and took a light hold on my arm, pulling me against him again. It was quite different this time though, and instead of trying to kiss me he simply held me there, his arms around my shoulders and his chin resting on top of my head. After a slightly delayed reaction, I raised my own arms to his waist and leaned against him.

It was foreign and familiar at the same time, Zoro's natural scent surrounding me along with his strong hold, and I thought again how I was such a blind fool for not seeing earlier something that had been in front of me for years. Then another thought crowded itself into my already full head and I frowned in confusion.

"Why did you just kiss me?" I asked, because, you know, it seemed like a valid question.

"Wanted to," Zoro answered simply. "So I did." He sighed and squeezed my shoulders. "Why didn't you say anything earlier?" he asked. "About how you 'like' me?" The grin I knew he was wearing was evident in his voice. He wasn't even trying to hold it back, the jerk.

"I didn't know I did," I admitted. "I mean, I've always had pretty strong feelings for you, I just didn't think they were very _positive_ feelings." I inhaled his scent slowly and sighed. "What about you, though? Since when have you wanted to kiss me?"

"Since always," Zoro answered, without missing a beat.

And there it was. 'Since always'.

He had _always_ felt that way? How did I manage to miss something like that? Oh yeah, because I'm terrible at reading people's thoughts in regards to myself and always have been. Apparently no one else had missed it though, I thought, recalling what both Tashigi and Robin had told me recently. Although it was possible Luffy hadn't noticed either, if one didn't count that whole 'Zoro's light' discussion we had a few weeks back, which for some reason I hadn't remembered much of, until now.

It was a surprising confession nonetheless, and I moved back a little to look up at him. "Seriously?"

"Yeah," Zoro replied, his smile gone now. "Seriously. You haven't made it very easy though, being as thick skinned as you are. I was starting to think I should just give up."

"Why didn't you say anything?" I asked. "Why not just tell me?"

"You didn't like me, remember?" Zoro pointed out. "I can't imagine that would have gone over very well."

"Fair enough," I conceded. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Zoro shook his head. "It's done."

I met his gaze, a little astonished he was so willing to forget the entire mess, and also relieved that it was over and I now knew that he felt the same way. I watched him with a small smile as he studied my face, seeming to be considering something, and took the decision away from him by leaning up and planting a quick kiss on his lips.

Zoro grinned at me as I pulled back. "Better be careful, Modokai," he joked. "Or you're gonna get addicted. It's a known fact."

"Ever so modest," I rolled my eyes at him, returning the grin. "Come on, let's sit down. I'm tired of standing."

"Yeah," Zoro agreed. "And I think I'll take that beer now."

As we sat on the couch in my living room we began to talk, really talk, about everything from our days in school to Zoro's new students and the reptile store.

When I asked him questions about upcoming tournaments and trials, Zoro's face would light up as he answered animatedly with quick movements of his hands and sweeping gestures as he described a new technique or skill he was improving.

When he asked me about the store I would reply in much the same way. I knew he wasn't actually interested in the lizards or snakes but he listened as I chattered about our new baby iguanas and how attached Caimie had become to them in such a short time.

We talked about my family and our friends, Zoro scoffing about the 'shit cook' or laughing when I told him about Luffy's misadventures as a kid. He told me more about Kuina and Koshiro, what it was like growing up in different foster homes until Koshiro had found him and took him in until he was eighteen. He explained all of this without a hint of embarrassment or shame, stating it as a simple fact and nothing more.

We talked about Ryu, too. Zoro had always liked my brother, and I told him the feeling had been mutual, even if I hadn't shared it, at the time.

It was four o'clock in the morning by the time I checked my phone again. My mouth was dry from talking and my sides hurt from laughing, but I was so happy I didn't care at all about little things like that.

Zoro was stretched out on one end of the couch, his head resting on one hand and his feet on the floor. Exhausted, I flopped down next to him and was fast asleep before I even realized I had closed my eyes.

* * *

><p>I woke up late morning the next day to the sound of the front door opening and Ace's voice calling through the apartment.<p>

"Hey Syla, I- whoops! Sorry."

My eyes snapped open as I realized several things at once: one, I was not in my bed, where I usually sleep. Two, I was not only laying on the couch but on a warm body on the couch. Three, Ace was standing a few feet from my front door, wearing a very surprised expression as he looked from me to my right and back again.

"Wha…" I mumbled tiredly.

"'S goin' on?" the mass I had recently been laying across asked in a sleep-roughened voice.

Zoro. Right.

"I was just about to ask that, myself," Ace responded with a wide grin. "But on second thought, I think I'll just take a guess and call it good."

"Nothing happened," I said immediately. "Pull your head out of the gutter. And how did you get in here, anyway?"

"Spare key," Ace explained. "I actually stopped over to ask if you wanted to go for lunch, since you didn't answer your phone, but now I see it's because you're a little busy at the moment, hmm?" His grin widened as he looked over at Zoro. "Finally got her to pay attention, did you? Good work. I was thinking we were going to have to knock her on the head or something, but your method seems less violent."

"Shush," I commanded. "Take your yapping head somewhere else for awhile. It's not lunch time yet anyway."

"Luffy can't wait," Ace shrugged. "And he's in the car right now, so I'd suggest you two love birds unglue yourselves long enough to clean up a little and let's get the hell out of here. If I have to listen to one more complaint about how his stomach is eating his spine, I'm going to throw him in front of traffic."

"Such brotherly love," I drawled. "Why are you so chipper, anyway?"

"You're not the only one who had a good night, you know," Ace waggled his eyebrows at me. "Marco came up late last night, and-"

"I don't want to hear it!" I yanked the throw pillow out from under Zoro's head and threw it at Ace. "I'll get up if you stop talking right now!"

"It's a date, then," Ace laughed. "You in, Zoro?"

"Huh?" Zoro sat up and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"We…go…eat…food," Ace explained slowly, using his hands to mime the actions. "Come on, you two will have plenty of time to catch up, and I'd rather not be jailed for fratricide on such a nice day. Let's go."

"He's right," I said quietly, standing up and pulling Zoro from the couch. He smiled and squeezed my hand in return. "We'll have plenty of time."


	21. Epilogue

Long and boring Author's Note at the bottom of the page.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece

Warnings: None

* * *

><p>Ace, as he usually was, had been right about Zoro and I having plenty of time to catch up with the things we had been missing for the past several years. And although the reason we had missed out on them in the first place was my fault (as I saw it), Zoro never brought that fact to light again, not even during the many times we became irritated with each other.<p>

After the lunch with my cousins, we had spent the rest of the weekend apart, mostly to think over our next move before jumping into anything too serious. The plan had only lasted until the following Tuesday, Zoro's birthday, when we seemed to mutually agree that together was the best place to be, for the both of us.

This decision had led to a lot of firsts between us as well.

The first (actual) date, the first real fight (few and far between but still pretty aggravating), the first time making love together.

This last one had been a bit awkward at first, as I was a little rusty about the whole thing by then and it was the only subject that made Zoro acutely (or just cutely) nervous. In the end we had gotten the hang of it, and it had turned out to be one of the best experiences of my life. It also helped that Zoro was more of a man of action than words, although some days this had accumulated into being a great source of irritation when trying to get an answer from him for one thing or another.

Zoro was still cocky (confident, he had corrected me) and stubborn, still argued with Sanji every time we were all together and still trained at the dojo almost daily. And yet those personality quirks never got to me in the same way they had before our confessions on the night of our first kiss. In fact, I enjoyed the challenge of the small arguments or bets we would wager for one thing or another, and instead of fighting him constantly on just about everything, I threw myself face-first into a completely different kind of life. One where I stood beside Zoro instead of apart from him, both of us meeting our world head on and hell bent on beating any obstacle that crossed our path.

Our friends were supportive of the decision for the most part, although Sanji declared he never actually understood how I could choose _Zoro_ over, well, _him_. I knew he wasn't serious with the comments and simply laughed whenever the subject was brought up, which was quite often. The rest were very unsurprised, some of them even a little smug (Robin) and carried on as if nothing was all too different inside our circle of family and friends.

Only Luffy had seemed confused about the decision, looking at me as if it was the most absurd thing he had ever heard.

_It was the day after Zoro's birthday, and I had gone over to Dragon's house for dinner, and to tell both Luffy and my uncle about my sudden change in status._

"_What do you mean?" he asked when I told him I was now with Zoro. "You two have always been together, haven't you?"_

"_No, Luffy," I explained patiently. "We weren't even really friends until recently, we were just both _your_ friend. But now we are dating, you see?"_

_Luffy shook his head adamantly. "Nope. It's been since forever. I could always tell because of Zoro's light. Remember?"_

"_Right," I started slowly. "I've been meaning to ask you about that. What's this 'light' thing?"_

_Luffy sat back in his chair and grinned. "Zoro lights up when you're around," he explained. "He has since we met him. I can't believe you haven't seen it," he laughed. "It's always been there. Wow, you really are slow, aren't you?"_

"_Tell me about it," I muttered. _

"_But it's okay."_

_I looked across the table at him as Dragon sat beside me, enjoying the amusing conversation in silence. "What?"_

"_It's fine," Luffy said simply. He smiled at me with one of those rare, patient expressions of his that always freaked me out a little. "You guys are happy anyway, right?"_

"_Right," I agreed, returning the smile. "We're happy." _

"_Great!" Luffy exclaimed as he leaned forward again. "So, when are you guys getting married?"_

_Dragon choked on his coffee very suddenly, trying to cover a laugh as I sputtered at my simple-minded cousin and his big mouth._

"_Luffy!"_

However Luffy never brought the question to Zoro under the not-so-subtle threat of a slow and painful death, and so I was forced to let him live to see his twenty-first birthday.

This event was an adventure of epic proportions, and to this day I am not entirely sure how Luffy, Nami, Sanji, Zoro and myself ended up on the roof of Galley LA (Paulie is still a bit sore about that one, seeing as Luffy somehow managed to set fire to half a crate of his best lumber), or how, later that night, Sanji found himself being chased down the street by a group of all-too-friendly transvestites (Sanji will deny to his last breath that this incident ever happened) but I am certain it was entirely the fault of Luffy.

After paying for the lumber from my own pocket and giving Luffy the beating of a lifetime, I convinced everyone else to agree that we were _never _letting my cousin consume any kind of alcohol ever again.

They were all too eager to go along with that plan.

Tashigi and Pell were married the summer after Luffy's twenty-first birthday, in Alubarna, and Zoro and I made the week-long trip with Luffy, all of us barely surviving not only each other, but the heat of a desert summer, as well.

Nami and Luffy grew close enough to begin dating not too long after we had returned from Alubarna (I still hadn't been allowed to say anything to Luffy until Nami was ready), and she effectively took him off my hands for the rest of his life by marrying him (crazy girl) the following spring.

Robin and Franky finally began admitting they were together, and although I could never imagine them tying any kind of knot that wasn't on Franky's prize sailboat, they were very happy with each other.

Through all of this Sanji remained a self-proclaimed 'ladies man', jumping from girlfriend to girlfriend, enjoying his freedom in between dates and spending the rest of his time as the new owner of The Baratie. I sometimes wonder of that man will ever change, and at the same time hope he never will.

* * *

><p>So, three years and fifty-four days after that first kiss in my kitchen, Zoro and I found ourselves back at the Rumbar Villa for a New Year's Eve celebration with our friends and family.<p>

I sat at one of the many round tables with Robin and Nami, watching Zoro swing Tashigi's two-year-old daughter around to the music as the little girl shrieked with delight.

"He's quite good with her," Robin remarked as Zoro set Rose on the floor and crouched in front of her, smiling as she twirled around excitedly.

"Yes," I agreed. "I suppose being a full-time kendo instructor has infused a little more patience into personality."

"He wasn't too bad to begin with, though," Nami put in from beside me.

"No he wasn't," I grinned at her. "Hell, he practically raised Tashigi, what with Koshiro being so busy when they were growing up, and those two are only a year apart."

"Speaking of," Robin craned her neck around to look behind us. "Where is Tashigi?"

"Gone to the buffet table with Pell," I explained. "She said she ought to get something to eat while Uncle Zoro creates a nice distraction."

"And also speaking of being distracted," Nami rose half-way from her chair to scan the large room. "Has anyone seen my husband? The silence is becoming suspicious."

"I believe I saw him with Ace and Marco," Robin answered. "There shouldn't be anything to worry about."

Nami sat back down in relief and I chuckled. "You know, Nami," I started. "I've always meant to ask; you didn't suffer any kind of brain damage before you decided to marry my cousin, did you?"

Nami rolled her eyes with a dramatic sigh and Robin had to cover her own grin with one hand.

"He's just lucky he's so cute," the redhead informed us. "Otherwise I would have had to ground him by now."

"How would you do that?" Robin asked with a smirk. "Send him to your room?"

Nami grinned and I gagged.

"Well," she began in a sly tone before I cut in, a little panicky.

"Nami, you know I love you but I really don't need to hear about what you do to Luffy when he's 'grounded'," I shuddered. "I'm still in complete shock that he even knows about sex."

"He certainly knows more than I had expected him to know," Nami confided, still grinning.

"Gah!" I protested. "Nami!"

Nami laughed at my discomfort and straightened her skirt as she turned on her chair. "Ah," she nodded. "Here comes Ussop. I was wondering if those two were going to hide out in the corner all night."

I turned as well to see Ussop and his girlfriend Kaya walking toward our table, hand in hand and smiling toward us.

Kaya had been a bit of a surprise to begin with, not that we didn't like the girl but I had begun to wonder if Ussop would ever work up enough steel to ever get a girlfriend. That she was not only pretty but smart as well was a big plus. The two had met the year before, when Ussop had gone to visit his brother at the college (Chopper was now pre-med) and was introduced to Kaya, who was in several of Chopper's classes. The two had hit it off immediately and were a great source of irritation for Sanji (really just Ussop), who couldn't figure out how our friend had landed someone like Kaya.

I thought they were adorable.

"Are you torturing Syla again?" Ussop directed at Nami as the pair sat down between myself and Robin. He gave me a sympathetic grin when Nami admitted it as a fact and I sighed in defeat.

"It's disgusting," I shrugged. "But I'll have to get used to it at some point, I guess."

"Don't think I ever will, though," Zoro put in as he sat himself down in the chair on my other side, Rose clinging to his shirt and giggling. "But I guess if it annoys the cook enough, it's worth it."

I noticed the absence of the usual insulting adjective and decided that being around children might improve Zoro's vulgar language, too.

"Thanks," Nami rolled her eyes with a grin. "Luffy'll be glad to hear it as well, I think."

"Hear what?" Luffy came whizzing around a few empty chairs and threw himself onto Nami's lap. "Are we gonna eat now or something?"

"No," Nami shoved him onto the floor and straightened her skirt again. "It's nothing. Why don't you stay here for awhile, alright? It shouldn't be too much longer now until they serve dinner and besides, Rose misses you." The diplomacy of her request was lost on Luffy, but had the desired effect anyway.

"No problem," Luffy grinned, crouching on the floor as Zoro lowered Rose to the ground. The toddler wasted no time in circling the table to jump on Luffy and the two were successfully entertained for the next few minutes.

I turned to Zoro instead. He had leaned forward to prop his chin onto one hand, the other running through his spiky hair. "Tired already, are we?" I asked with a smirk.

"That kid is just like Tashigi," Zoro groaned. "Give it a few years, we're all gonna be in trouble."

I patted Zoro's hand sympathetically and looked across the room again, spying Tashigi and Pell now chatting animatedly with Sanji and Brook, the latter having brought his entire band with him for the evening.

"Look at those two," I observed as Tashigi only had to turn her head a little and Pell was already placing a drink in her hand. "So in tune with each other. That kind of romance is rare these days, isn't it?"

"Hey," Zoro lifted his head. "I can be romantic."

"Really?" I asked as several people at the table began biting their lips to keep from laughing. "Can you, now?"

It was definitely no secret that Zoro possessed next to no romantic skills to speak of. True, he had done nice things in the past, like bringing extra blankets to me when I was sick or washing my dishes when I had cut my hand at the store and required several stitches. But really, those kinds of things were just Zoro's way of protecting me in some small form, and didn't have much to do with romance in a, well, _romantic_ sense.

Zoro pushed his chair away from the table to turn toward me. "Sure I can," he insisted. He frowned for a moment before nodding. "How's this: Your eyes, they're like…expensive chocolate." Zoro paused before shaking his head. "Nah, that doesn't work, does it? I don't actually like chocolate."

At this point both Nami and Ussop were nearly in tears from holding in their laughter, although Robin and Kaya were still putting up a good fight.

I clapped a hand over my eyes, feeling my shoulders shake with suppressed giggles. "It's fine, Zoro," I snickered. "Don't hurt yourself."

"Alright, alright," he chuckled unexpectedly. "What about this, instead?"

I kept a hand over my face, opening my mouth to insist that he not make another attempt, when Luffy's clear voice froze me in place with a simple question.

"Hey Zoro, why are you on the floor?"

The floor?

I pulled my hand away and was met with the stunned expressions of Nami, Robin, Ussop and Kaya, all of their eyes focused on a point just past my right elbow. I turned around curiously. "What- _what_?"

Zoro was on one knee beside my chair, his hand in the pocket of his jacket and a half-smile across his lips. "Thought I ought to do this with some witnesses around," he explained simply. "Just in case you try to clobber me for it. But anyway," Zoro took a deep, almost shaky breath. "Here." He pulled his hand from his pocket and held out a small black box. "It's not much, kinda small and maybe you won't like it but it is green and that's your favorite color, right? So…uhm…"

He was more nervous than I had ever seen him so far, a light sheen of sweat just visible at his temples as he swallowed hard. After another moment Zoro raised the box a little higher and I snapped out of my shock. This looked a lot like…but I had to be certain.

"What's your point, Roronoa?" I asked quietly.

In fact, the entire table had gone quiet. Even Luffy seemed to decide that this was a good time to keep his mouth shut as he sat on the ground with Rose on his lap, dark gaze trained on Zoro.

"Well, I was wondering if…you'd want to…" Zoro fumbled with the top of the box, flicking it open and gesturing at the gold and emerald ring nestled inside the velvet holder. "You know…" He pointed at my left hand helplessly.

"Get married?" I supplied, smiling down at him. His flustering was endearing, but I thought it might be a bit kinder to end the discomfort instead of waiting for him to manage a full sentence, never mind how my own hands were shaking on my lap.

"Yeah," Zoro looked relieved the question was now out in the open and from the corner of my eye I saw Nami shake her head at him in amusement. "That."

I looked from the ring to Zoro's face before slowing reaching out to take the box from him. "Yes," I nodded, my smile so wide now it was starting to hurt. "I can live with that."

Zoro breathed out audibly and pulled me from my chair just as a loud cheer sounded around us, not only from our table but from the many people who had noticed the proposal as well. Even while being distracted with Zoro's fierce kiss I could hear the voices of Tashigi and Ace whooping loudly above the applause and smiled.

Zoro pulled back after a moment, both of us now kneeling beside the table, and took the ring from it's case to slip it onto my finger. "You wont regret it," he promised.

"I know," I answered. It wasn't as if I hadn't ever thought of the possibility, and I had decided long before that this was what I would eventually want more than anything. I just hadn't expected Zoro to beat me to it.

Zoro grinned fully and then was gone from view as Tashigi appeared out of nowhere and proceeded to do her best to smother him, already in tears as she hugged him around the neck with a dangerously strong grip.

I thought about a rescue attempt but was distracted from the idea when Ace picked me clear off my feet to swing me around in a small circle, laughing loudly.

"Ryu would have approved," he said quietly, setting me on the floor. "You know that."

"Yes, I do," I agreed, returning the hug. "Thanks, Ace."

"Of course," Ace grinned. "And congratulations. Now for the obligatory threat speech," he turned on his heel suddenly. "Hey, Zoro. We need to talk."

The moment Ace stepped away to lecture my new fiancée I was nearly tackled by Tashigi, who had released Zoro to cry happily on me for awhile, instead.

After the sob-fest and congratulatory hugs that went on for the next twenty minutes, we celebrated the evening with a renewed vigor until it was time to ring in the new year together. Chopper arrived shortly after dinner and Franky had strolled in (suit and all) an hour before midnight to spend what was left of the celebration with Robin.

As I walked along the back wall with Zoro, both of us watching the cheering and noise-making which was still going on despite it being a good half hour after midnight, and feeling the new weight of the ring on my finger, I came to a remarkable conclusion; that through trial and error, through time and temperament, life and loss and sadness and celebration, we had, all of us, become a family.

A big, crazy, dysfunctional, unpredictable and often-times impossible to comprehend family, but a family nonetheless.

And I also knew, without a doubt, this bizarre and unorthodox family was the only thing I would ever need again for the rest of my life.

* * *

><p><strong>FIN<strong>

* * *

><p>AN: It's over!

I almost can't believe it, after nearly a year this story is over! I have to admit, I never meant to take it this far and it was only through continued support that I was able to finish it. So, thank you all! I couldn't have done it without you!

I'm going to miss writing Syla, she turned out to be a blast, but I feel very accomplished for having managed to make it through an entire (_21 chapter_) story. Thanks to the readers who were patient enough to follow all the way through with me. Also a special thanks to everyone who took the time to leave reviews, it helps to know which parts are better so I can work on improving in the future. You guys are the best!

And with that I can close Green Scales with a clear conscience, but this will not be the last you hear of me! Mwaahaahaa!


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